Bolt the Superdog: Calico Returns
by Bane7567
Summary: Calico is vanquished, Penny rescues her father, and life returns to normal. However,  Defeated, not destroyed. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue: The Last Battle

**Calico Returns**

Summary

Bolt and Penny have finally vanquished Calico, Penny rescued her father, and life returned to normal. But a mastermind never truly stays down. Calico returns once more and, this time, kidnaps Penny, her father, and her husband in one final attempt to obtain the genetic enhancement process. Now, the only ones who can save them are Penny's daughter, Emily, and Bolt's son, Lightning.

* * *

Prologue: The Last Battle

"Are you ready for this guys?" Penny asked without looking away from her binoculars, which were looking over a particularly large military base, which had a large, green, cat like eye in the center. "Guys?" she asked again looking over her shoulder to her two companions, her dog and best friend, Bolt, whom her father, Mark had altered to protect her, and a brown haired boy who was the same age as Penny, same height, with dark green eyes, blue jeans and a green shirt.

"Oh, sure. Heck yeah, I'm ready. How about you Bolt?" he said standing up and walking over next to Penny.

Bolt barked happily as he too sat next to Penny on the edge of a redwood forest in California, overlooking the base. She smiled at their enthusiasm. It had been almost a year and a half since Penny's father was kidnapped by Calico. She and Bolt had been on the run from him ever since, searching through bases and labs of Calico industries, battling henchmen, sleeping in small, out-of-the-way hotels, paying for meals with the large amount of cash Mark had left her, and doing anything to find clues about the whereabouts of him. Her other partner, Adam Hendrick, had joined her a little before the end of the first year. She had met him back in her home town of Silverlake when she came back to finish a school year. She had only told him about her journey to save her father, and he agreed to assist her, despite her protests to keep him out of it.

And he proved more than helpful to them. He knew how to hack a computer mainframe and knock out henchman just as well as Penny, and they didn't realize it, but they both a had a crush on the other. But they didn't have time to think about it now, they were about to go up against Calico for what they hoped would be the last time. Since he wasn't expecting them for once, Mark had to be there. And since Calico was completely unaware of their location, they could use that to their advantage and catch him off guard. "So..." Adam started, looking away from his own binoculars. "This is it, huh?"

"I...I guess so," Penny responded, keeping her eyes fixed on the base. She hoped so. After running and hiding from Calico for so long, she just wanted it to end, and it was finally about to.

Adam looked over at her and smiled, "Ready to see your dad Penny?" he asked.

Penny smiled as well and nodded. "If everything goes as planned," she said, pulling out a layout of the base in front of them. "Now, here's how it's going to work. Bolt and I are going to sneak in and lower the base defenses so they won't be able to fight back as quickly or as well. And then we'll attack straight to where Calico's holding dad, Bolt will take down the rest of his weapons, and you will give us any heads-ups about his weapon, and take out the rest of his defenses."

"And _how_, exactly, am I supposed to do that?" Adam asked, bewildered. Penny handed him her phone. "With this?"

"Calico moves around a lot, so he sometimes puts his controls on a phone or a remote, or something mobile so he can control them from wherever. And that's what I'm going to do," she explained, putting the phone into his hand. "Once we're inside the main control room, I can switch all of the functions of the weapons, including self destruct, over to this phone, and you can figure out the rest."

Adam admired how much faith she had in him. He only hoped her trust would pay off. "Alright. So...we're all set and ready then?" he inquired, double-checking everything over in his head.

"Yep," Penny responded looking at the base once again, her heart pounding with both excitement and concern. "Let's do this then."

She began climbing down the hill they were on when Adam grabbed her hand. "Penny!" he said cautiously. She looked back at him. "Be...careful. Okay?"

She smiled at him and clutched his hand . "I will. I promise," she assured, and continued down the hill, Bolt right behind her. _He likes me._ She thought smiling. _Yes!_

Adam watched her continue down to the perimeter. _She likes me. Yes!_

Penny slid to a halt just short of the fence. Bolt quickly tore through the fence and slowly went through it with Penny following him behind a small storage building with the main control room in sight. _Here we go._

* * *

It worked flawlessly. All of Calico's helicopters and cars were in flames, Bolt was taking care of the last squadron of soldiers with one swift superbark, then turned back to Penny, who was marching straight towards the center of the base. Where she knew (thanks to the control station) her father was. "Nice work Penny!" Adam's voice came from her two way radio. "It worked."

_Thanks for pointing out the obvious Adam._ "Of course it did," she responded. "Thanks to you."

"Oh I just did what you told me to do," he laughed. "You going to Calico now?"

"Yep," she sighed. "Wait where you are and call the police."

Adam obeyed as Bolt came up beside her. She bent down and scratched his head. "Good boy!" she said warmly. "Let's finish this."

They entered the tall, cylindrical building to a dark room with steps winding upward. They both carefully climbed up the steps into a large, round room. Everything was black. Until a blinding light was shown on the two of them.

"_Penny_!" a familiar voice cried out of the darkness.

"Daddy!" Penny cried back, shielding her eyes, trying to see anything past the light.

"Ah, young Penny!" a chilling, English accented voice rang out of the dark. "I must admit this visit was rather unexpected. But I'm so pleased you stopped by."

Then the spotlight turned off and the entire room was illuminated. She unshielded her eyes and saw a metal aisle in front of her, with rows of henchmen, cars, and helicopters, or "Calicopters" as Penny sometimes called them. Beyond them was the largest Calico supercomputer either of them had ever seen. With Mark off to the right of it, strapped to a chair, and Calico standing behind what appeared to be a podium with a microphone. Off to the left a ways was a large vat full of a strange, partially glowing, green liquid. "Let my dad go Calico!" she roared, her fists clenched.

"Oh, why of course, my dear. Right away," he said in a faked polite tone. "I was just waiting for you to ask nicely." Penny sneered at his sarcasm. "Grab her, _quickly_!" he ordered to his back sea of guards which lunged towards them instantly.

Penny had had enough. "Bolt. _Speak_," she said.

The doctor snickered. "Oh yes, Bolty, show us what you're made of, and risk igniting the facility and destroying half the forest."

"You should have thought about that when you took my dad away," she shouted back as Bolt positioned himself. Calico's confident smile quickly vanished. Bolt growled deeply as he moved his head back. The lashed it forward releasing a super bark. Which sent all of the lined up cars, henchmen, and copters flying into the air towards the supercomputer.

A small series of explosions turned into one massive wall of flame that was ripping through the dark gray walls, and spilled the green substance across the floor. Bolt quickly jumped back and shielded Penny from any of the debris. When she looked back up, though it was difficult to see anything through the thick smoke, she could make out the smoldering remains of the computer, and the area where her father was. Also in flames, but Mark himself alright, and freed from his burnt chair. "_Daddy_!" she cried as she ran past the injured henchmen and damaged and burning cars to him.

Mark released a huge sigh of relieve as he ran towards her. Penny felt like she was about to cry at the sight of her father again. She kept running and running, not caring how tired she was, she just wanted to embrace Mark again. Mark felt the same. The two finally met halfway through the gradually burning room. Mark kneeled down and at long last embraced his daughter. Penny nearly leaped into his arms, and began sobbing tears into his rugged lab coat. "Daddy..." she kept repeating as she hugged him tightly.

Mark pulled back looked at her lovingly, "I told you that you could find me again," he said, pulling her back into his arms. "I knew you would."

She continued to cry softly into his shoulder. "Are...are you okay daddy?" she asked, still tightly hugging him. "Did Calico hurt you at all? Did you..."

Mark chuckled, "I'm fine sweetie. Thanks to you."

"You were the one who enhanced Bolt," she reminded him.

Then his smile vanished, "I'm...sorry, about that sweetie. I knew what it would do to him, and I knew what he means to you, but I did it anyway. And I didn't even tell you, and..."

Penny laughed and silenced him, "It's okay," she said. "It saved my life on more than one occasion."

"I know, but...I should have at least told you before that call."

"You had your reasons, now..."

Suddenly they were both pushed by something and rolled over a few meters before coming to stop just before a group of wounded and fleeing henchmen. "Penny! Sweetheart are you okay?" Mark asked worriedly.

"Fine," she assured, looking back at where they were sitting to see a large chunk of flaming debris in their place.

Then they looked at what pushed them to safety. Mark smiled and scratched Bolt behind the ear. "Good boy," he said breathlessly.

Bolt smiled and wagged his tail in response. He missed him almost as much as Penny did. "Oh, good boy _indeed_."

They all turned to see Calico standing on what was left of his platform, pointing a pistol at Penny. Mark snarled and stepped in front of Penny. "Give up Calico," he said in a dark and angry tone. "Your base is destroyed. Your henchmen are gone. All of your cars and weapons are fried. We've won. Just give up!"

"_You've_ won?" Calico sneered, keeping the gun pointed in his direction. "Let me explain something to you. I _always_ win. No matter what circumstances. I will always triumph over your pitiful diminutive resistance. And not _all_ of my weapons, by the way."

He activated a control on his panel, revealing a large rack of warheads behind him. "Once I launch these missiles, they will fly all over the world and destroy multiple unsuspecting towns and cities, including Silverlake. Unless..." he said, hovering his finger over the launch button. "I won't launch them, if you give me the genetic enhancement process!"

Mark sighed, looking back at Penny, who looked at him with worried eyes. "Wait," she said looking back at the leaking vat. "Dad, what is that?" she asked.

"Uh...some sort of chemical that Calico must have put in those missiles," he said. "It's very...explosive, and he said it could destroy the entire base..."

"Calico!" Penny shouted boldly. "If you don't surrender, I tell Bolt to destroy that...liquid stuff."

Calico laughed manically, "And destroy you, your father, _and_ your precious little mutt? I think not. Now, the process please? Mark?"

Mark looked back at her and she mouthed, "Get ready to run." Mark's eyes widened and he clutched her hand and nodded. "Have it your way. Bolt?" She didn't need to say any more. _I hope you know what you're doing Penny_. He shot two bright green lasers at the pool, instantly setting it aflame.

Calico shouted angrily, beginning to run from the scene, only to be pinned on the floor by Bolt.

All three of them sprinted out of the room along with the equally terrified remaining, black-suited men. Bolt dragging Calico behind him as he ran. The flames quickly ran along the trail of the leaked chemical until they hit the main vat where it came from. Then from it came a large ear splitting explosion. They narrowly made it out of the building into the center area of the base where a large number of police and police cars were waiting, capturing the fleeing henchmen. Mark and Penny finally stumbled to a rest as the center building went up in flames. They held each other close as they watched the explosion and smoke rise higher in the air. "Why do I feel like Calico was bluffing about those missiles?" she panted, finally.

"Because the explosion would've been larger?" Mark inquired. "Plus we would probably be dead."

"Probably. I thought he was getting a little desperate near the end," she said.

"Near the _end_?" Mark repeated, smiling. "Try the beginning."

Penny returned a smile. "Sorry about that scare. Sometimes I forget how much Bolt can..."

She stopped in an instant. Bolt? What happened to Bolt? She heard a small whimper alongside her. She looked to see her American white shepherd covered in black soot spots sitting loyally beside her. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Good boy," she said stroking his head. "You're my good boy."

They stayed in the embrace for another minute as Penny watched the struggling doctor finally being taken away to a police van with his other henchmen without helmets. She smiled and waved to him getting a large sneer in response. "You don't always win," she shouted to him.

He snarled as the door closed. _Just wait_.

Then she saw Adam running towards her, yelling her name. "Adam!" she cried, she released Bolt and ran back to him.

The two met in a tight embrace and Adam looked at her, a mixed expression of relief and worry on his face. "I thought you had died, Penny. I was so worried something bad happened to you and I wasn't there to help, I..." he continued until Penny put her hand over his mouth.

"I'm fine," she said calmly. "And I wanted...to thank you for everything you've done to help me get dad back. I...I don't I could've done it without it you."

He smiled at her, "Anytime..." The two simply stood there in a few moments of awkward silence until Adam spoke up again. "Uh...hey Penny. Uh...since you're free, I was wondering of maybe you and I could...I don't know...maybe..."

Penny stopped him again. "Yes," she answered, and with that she pulled his lips into hers, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His eyes widened, then slowly shut as he embraced her back. Bolt and Mark smiled at this. It was finally over. Mark was thankful that Penny could finally go back to a normal life with her father. Bolt was thankful that he had succeeded in his duty of protecting Penny. Calico had lost.

* * *

_Later._

Mark had finished talking to the local authorities about the situation as the last of the fire had been extinguished. They understood, after a much explanation, and offered to transport them back to Silverlake, California via helicopter. He went to find Penny, Bolt, and Adam. It didn't take long as they were watching the sunset off to the side of the center of the base. Penny was gently stroking Bolt in her lap and was leaning against Adam who had his arm around her. He smiled at the sight and approached them. Penny hastily looked back him, at first thinking he was yet another medic who thought she had been injured. Soon recognizing him, she smiled. "Hey sweetie," he said, smiling ear to ear. "You ready to head home?"

Penny's smile grew. "Yes," she nodded, as she held Adam closer to her in excitement. "Home, Bolt," she whispered to her dog. "We're going home."

Bolt smiled as well. _Home_. He kept thinking. _There's nothing like it. Home_.

_A/N_

_Pretty long for a first chapter I know, but I had to get this all together._


	2. Chapter 1: Twenty years later

Chapter 1: Twenty years later

_Twenty years later._

"Oh Adam, look at her," Penny called while watching her daughter play with the American white shepherd in a front yard from the living room window.

Adam looked out and smiled. "She's a dog lover," he said, kissing his wife. "Just like her mother."

She smiled in return as she watched Emily play with her American white shepherd who had a new, carrot shaped chew toy in his mouth. Penny and Adam had married just a few years before Bolt died. Bolt had mated with a cat that used to work for Calico, named Mittens. Penny adopted her shortly after the last battle. Adam and Penny married at age twenty-one and had a child a few years after. A little girl whom they named Emily Lauren, middle name after Penny's mother. She was almost nine and had brown hair that fell to her shoulders like Penny, that had a red tint to it. She had first met Lightning when she was four and had been in love with him ever since. When Mittens first gave birth, only a few of the puppies and kittens actually got to know Bolt a year before he died. Penny and Adam decided to put them up for adoption except for one who would belong to their daughter. The one that looked most like Bolt, who they decided to name Lightning. Bolt died when Penny turned twenty-four, pulling her into a brief state of depression. Emily only met Bolt when she was an infant. But she grew up with Lightning for most of her life. Penny eventually pulled herself out of it with the comforting fact that Mittens was still alive, and she had Bolt's "son" and a daughter of her own.

She looked out on the front step to see Mittens watching the two play outside and smiled. Then she noticed she was looking at something else. That was when she noticed a car had pulled in the driveway, with Mark stepping out. "Grandpa!" Emily shouted excitedly, standing up from the lawn and running towards him.

Mark smiled and knelt down to embrace her. Mark was now in his mid sixties, with dark gray hair dominating over his black hair. But still worked as a scientist working with chemicals. "Hey Emily," he said, receiving a large hug from her. "How are you and Lightning doing?"

"Good," she responded cheerily, holding her dog next to her. "Where have been?"

"I told you, I've been at work honey. I've had a lot to do lately," he said, almost regrettably. "But I'm free for the rest of the week. And I brought a little surprise for you."

The girl nearly squeaked and jumped up and down, holding out her hands. Mark placed a small, golden necklace in her waiting hands. Her eyes widened. "Wow! I've wanted one of these so bad!" she said, not doing well in containing her excitement. "How did you know?"

"Your mother told me how much you like this charm jewelry stuff. So, I found a small store near where I worked and they had loads of them," he said standing to greet Penny.

"What do say, Emily?" Penny reminded her. Emily thanked him and put the necklace on immediately, then returned to playing with Lightning.

Mark smiled and greeted her, then Adam. "Hi...dad," Adam said cautiously.

Mark sighed, he had told him over and over he was fine with him calling him "dad". "Hi Adam, how are you?"

"Good," he responded. "What brings you by?"

"Well, first of all," he grabbed another bag from the car. "I wanted to get this to you. Sorry it's a little late, but..." Mark pulled a, what looked like, medium sized miniature television from it. "for Penny's birthday, it's that digital photo album of her and Bolt you wanted."

"Yes!" Penny said eagerly taking it from his hand and looking at it. "Thank you, oh I hoped I would get this!"

"You're welcome, and there was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about," he added, removing the other bags from the car and kicking the door shut.

"What?" Penny inquired, assisting him.

"Inside," he said in a serious tone.

They went inside, Penny informing Emily of where they were. Penny and Adam set the bags down on a table. "Dad, you want anything to drink?" Adam offered.

"Just water," he replied, sitting down on one of the fine, red chairs in the living room.

"So...what did you want to talk to us about dad?" Penny inquired, finishing her dusting of the room that had stopped to watch Emily.

Mark sighed, having hoped he would never have to bring this up again. "Cal..." he stopped, thinking he should explain what had been going first. "Well, over the past few months, as you know, I've been working on different chemicals in those labs for the past few weeks."

"Yeah," Penny said, dusting a picture, of her, Mark, Bolt, and Mittens. She smiled. _Hey Bolt. How's my good boy?_ "Like, antidotes? Pain relievers?"

"Mostly, yes," he said, drinking some of the water he had been brought, as Adam sat down on the couch facing the front of the house. "But, some of the others and I have also been working on something a little more secret."

The thought instantly entered Penny's head, "Animal enhancement?" she inquired.

"Exactly," he responded.

"Dad, you know it's dangerous to that!" Penny snapped. "Not just for the animals, for yourself! What if someone comes after you for it, like Calico did?"

"Only Calico knew what we were doing. Everyone else doesn't."

Then another thought came to her mind, "Have you done it on Lightning?" she asked nervously.

Mark shook his head, "I don't need to. He's Bolt's...son, he already has it."

Penny gasped sharply at this. _No. Not him. Not with Emily. She's supposed to have a normal life._ "Well, as long as he stays away from it..."

"He's not going to have a choice," he added, folding his hands in his lap. Penny looked at him, confused. "Calico has...escaped."

Penny and Adam both gasped this time and shot worried looks at each other. "D...do you think he'll come after you?"

"I don't know, but if he does, we have to be ready."

"No!" Penny said, walking over to him and got onto her knees next to him. "Adam and I agreed not to tell Emily about any of this. I want her to have a normal life, not a life on the run like me and Bolt did. I don't want it to happen to her dad."

Mark put his hand on her shoulder, "I know sweetie," he assured. "I don't want it to happen to her either, but _if_ Calico comes after us for the enhancement process, and I'll bet you anything he will, then he'll kidnap all of us this time, and then Emily! So we have to tell her so Calico won't be able to touch her."

"But why come after her at all?" Adam inquired. "If he had you, me and Penny, won't that be enough?"

"No," Penny answered soberly. "The only way dad will talk to Calico is if I'm in danger. Or...in pain. And he probably figures I'll be in more pain if...if my daughter is in danger."

"I'm sorry you two, but we don't have a choice," Mark continued after a minute of silence.

Penny slowly sat down on the couch and began weeping. Adam sighed and put his arm around her. "It's okay, if she's anything like you, she'll be just fine," he assured, stroking her back. "And if Lightning's anything like Bolt, then..."

"It's not that," she said through her tears. "I didn't want her to go through what I had to."

"I know Penny," Mark said. "But if we're going to beat Calico again, Lightning is our only hope."


	3. Chapter 2: Awaiting Trouble

Chapter 2: Awaiting Trouble

Emily and Lightning could play in the yard for hours and hours without tiring of it. Until hours and hours went by, and they finally collapsed on the lawn. Lightning lay next to Emily panting so heavily it almost looked like his tongue might fall out. Emily smiled and put her arm around him. "Good boy," she said, stroking his beautiful white fur. _Just like his father._ Mittens thought as she watched the two from the front step smiling. "You're _my_ good boy," she added kissing him on the head. "That's what mom said."

Lightning wagged his tail and licked her cheek. She giggled and held him close to her, then reclined onto her back in the sun-warmed grass. Lightning stood and walked over to Mittens. "You sure know how to show her a good time," Mittens said, making room for him.

"Did you see all that mom?" he asked, still excited. "When she threw Mister Carrot and I caught it in midair? Did you see that?"

"Yes honey, I was here the entire time," she laughed, then wet her paw to clean his fur. "Hold still you have a smudge on head."

"Oh mom," he complained, trying to pull away.

"Just hold still until..." she laughed until she saw something on his side. She got a closer look to see a faded black streak along his snow white fur. _Is that..? No. It can't be. Can it? Did some of Bolt's powers...No! It couldn't have. He can't..._

"What is it mom?" he asked.

"Uh...nothing, just another little smudge," she answered, smiling at him. She looked back at where the mark was, it had vanished as soon as it appeared. She sighed. _Probably nothing._ "I'm done you can go."

"Thanks warden," Lightning smiled, gave her a small lick on the cheek and ran back to Emily.

Meanwhile, numerous thoughts were running through Mittens head. _Does he have powers? Mark didn't do anything to him did he? Why would he need to? What difference does it make? It's not like he's ever going to need them. No. He's fine, if Bolt was fine with them, then he'll be fine too._ With that thought, she went into the house. She liked their current house. They moved in shortly after Penny and Adam married. It was still in Silverlake, but more out of the way than their previous house. The town was in easy sight of it, with other houses a block or two down the road, and plenty of trees over head. She walked past the living room, then stopped and looked back into it as she saw Penny softly crying into Adam's shoulder. Mark had already left which left Adam to do his best to comfort her. "It's okay, it'll all be alright," he said, putting his arm around her.

_What will be alright? What's wrong? Are they losing the house?_ "Adam," Penny answered quietly without looking up. "I don't want her to live on the run like I did. She...she has to have a normal life. Not one running and hiding."

"Penny, she's your daughter. If she's anything like you, and she's a lot like you, she'll be able to get through it."

_Get through what?_ Mittens's head shrieked. Penny sighed and smiled at him, "She's _our_ daughter first of all," she reminded him, then her smile faded. "And...I was terrified when I got that call from dad. I was so confused and...I don't want that happening to our daughter. She's just a little girl and..."

"Yes," Adam stopped her. "But so were you, and look what you did."

"I know!" she retorted, looking at him. "I don't want that happening again! Especially not to our daughter!"

"_Penny_!" Adam snapped, then calming himself. "Not so loud, we don't want her to start worrying now." He put his hands on Penny's. "Don't you worry, it'll be okay, she won't be alone. She has Lightning. Remember that."

She smiled, remembering, during her confusion how comforted she was with Bolt at her side. She was even more comforted by the fact that Emily was just as close to Lightning if not closer. "Okay," she responded, warmly embracing him. Mittens smiled at this. _Don't want it happening to her, but...they don't mean..._ Penny looked back at him again, "When do think Calico will find us?"

_Calico?_ Mittens shuddered at the mention. It was all clear now. Calico was back, and if Mittens knew her old master, he would seek revenge in any way possible. He would kidnap the family. And without Bolt that would mean, from what she heard, Emily would have to save them...with Lightning. _He does have powers_. Mittens gasped, no knowing whether to be excited or scared. _What if he can't handle it? What if he loses control? What if they hurt him?_ The large line of thoughts continued to run through her head like a speeding police chase. She put them aside for the moment and looked back in on the conversation. "...But when he does find us, we have to be ready," Adam continued, standing in front of the couch. "We'll have to give her your old scooter, and a sizable amount of money, we don't know how long this may last, but we should also give her that tracker, a GPS, and anything else you might have used."

Penny was nodding as he continued to list the items off, wiping the tears that fell off her cheeks. He noticed this and sat down beside her again, "It'll be okay, she'll be fine."

"I know," she replied, smiling and wiping away the last of the tears. "You're sure Lightning has all the powers Bolt does?"

"Well, your dad said he would be taking him to the labs just to be safe," he said. Penny looked down at this, she also remembered how unhappy she was when her father had performed experiments on Bolt. Adam once again noticed this and kissed her on the cheek. "It'll be..."

"Okay," she laughed, then shared a long kiss with him.

Worry began to take Mittens over. _He...he's Bolt's son. He'll be fine. He has to be. He will be._ She continually told herself this, but she still didn't want her son experimented on. "Mom, what's wrong?" Lightning inquired from behind. Mittens spun around to see him and Emily walking in the door.

"Oh uh..." she responded, startled. "They were just talking about...uh, you and I wanted to make sure you're okay." He stared at her blankly. "And...and you _are_! You are, don't worry."

He shrugged and followed Emily into the living room. "Mom have you seen my..." she started, then stopped to see her parents still in a long kiss.

Penny turned around to see her and moved a foot away from Adam for her comfort. "What honey?" she asked blushing, not precisely sure why as it was merely their daughter.

"Never mind," she responded and hastily exited the room, Lightning right behind her.

Penny and Adam looked at each other, doing their best not to laugh, "Okay," Adam said, standing. "Let's make sure everything's ready."

"Right," she responded, her smile minimizing.

* * *

Work after work after work. Mark was on the verge of feeing completely stressed out. But it was all worth it. It was for Penny once again, for Emily. He sighed at his desk as he kept that in mind. He had kept Penny's old compact scooter in a small back room of his workplace in case Emily might have ever wanted it. He had recently added a new feature which allowed it to hover up almost ten feet into the air using small hover jets built into the wheels. He had the large amount of cash from his previous paycheck in an envelope in front of him, pleased with how much Bendon industries paid him for his research. It was almost twice as much as Calico industries ever gave him. He also had kept the old GPS, tracking device, scanning monocle (originally designed by Penny) built into the scooter helmet, the pair of binoculars with a built in radar and ear piece, and the large, red, water proof backpack that Penny used. He hoped it wouldn't have to be used for the same purposes, but they had no choice. "Feeling alright Mark?" one of his co-workers, Mike, asked, walking into his office, most employees had cubicles in a large, poorly lit room with an individual light for each one. Mark had known Mike ever since he worked at Calico industries.

Mark nodded, "Fine, just thinking..." he trailed off, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at his new holographic display clock Penny gave him. _6:15_. He came into work early to ensure everything was ready for Emily and Lightning's extra enhancement. He shuddered at the thought that by doing this in secret from Emily, he was doing the exact same thing he did to Penny. Betraying her.

"About?" Mike inquired, taking a sip of his coffee and leaned against the office doorway. "Calico?"

"Yeah," he responded. "Have you told the boss and everyone else to be ready to evacuate? Calico's men will be here in a matter of days."

Mike nodded, "Yes, and to save and delete any files on our recent work," he added. "The chamber's all ready, by the way. When did you say your daughter was coming?"

"Soon I hope," he answered, drinking some of his own coffee before he fell asleep on his desk. "As you know, we have to get this done before Emily, my granddaughter, realizes he's missing."

"You're not telling her in advance?"

"No, that would just make her panic in advance. She doesn't need to be ready herself, she has everything she needs. And she's strong," he remarked, smiling grimly. "Like her mother." Then he saw Penny approaching from behind Mike with a groggy Lightning in a kennel. _Speaking of which._

"Hi Mike," she greeted with a warm smile, then she turned to Mark. "Everything ready?"

Mark could see the sadness and worry in her eyes. "Yes," he said, standing from his desk. "It may be he doesn't even need this. But better safe than sorry."

Penny nodded and walked out of the office Mark following her, "Do...do you want me to help with anything?" Mike asked before Mark left.

Penny answered first, "Yes, after we're captured, and if we're all captured, I need you to help Emily in any way you can. Then you have to hide." She sighed. "I'm...I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," he replied walking with them to the lower levels where the experimentation chamber was. "By helping with this, all of the employees have to hide. Even the cleaning crew. But I'd be happy to help."

Penny smiled briefly, then looked in the kennel at Lightning who was now sleeping. She didn't want to test on the poor animal like Bolt had been, especially behind her daughter's back, like Mark did. But if Emily was going to make it, it had to be done. Penny set the kennel on a small counter when they arrived at the testing chamber. It was almost exactly like the one he had used back at Calico industries on Bolt. "Everything's all set up," Mark said, pulling out two hazmat suit from a large drawer. "By the way, where's Adam?"

"He's back at the house making sure everything's ready..." she answered looking down. Mark sighed and walked over to her, she tightly embraced him.

"It's alright, it'll be okay," he comforted, feeling her tremble. "I don't want it to happen to her either, but remember, she's strong, like you, she'll be able to get through it."

"I don't want her to go through it at all," she said, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "I don't want her out there all alone."

"Penny," he said, lifting her head. "Before I was captured by Calico, I thought the exact same thing. I wished _and_ wish there was some alternative, but I was comforted by one thing. You weren't alone, you had Bolt. Emily has Lightning, she'll never be alone."

Penny looked back at Lightning, still asleep in his cage. Then turned back to her father, "I know," she whispered. "Let's just do this."

She carried Lightning out of his cage and into the spherical testing chamber. Then she went back up the stairs as Mark and Mike were putting their hazmat suits on. She looked back in the chamber at Lightning, who was panting happily, completely unaware of what was about to happen. _I'm sorry Emily._


	4. Chapter 3: Tensions

Chapter 3: Tensions

Emily awoke to the bright morning sunlight shining in her eyes. She winced and quickly turned the other way, to see Mittens sleeping against her stomach. She smiled and stroked the frail cat's shining, black fur. She knew Mittens for all of her life, and she loved her as much as she did Lightning. And even in her advanced age, still would play with a ball of yarn like the kitten she was at heart. Then she looked off to the right of her, shielding her eyes as her bed was right next to a window. She adjusted the blinds and looked over at her right side again and, to her confusion, didn't see Lightning. She looked off to the left side again to see only Mittens. She looked throughout the bed room and still no sign of him. This was not completely unusual as he didn't always sit beside her in the summer or weekend mornings when she could sleep in. He would often find ways to entertain himself by playing with Mittens when she felt like it (which, for him, was often), or he would beg for any form of food if either Penny or Adam was preparing breakfast. Although she didn't hear any noise from the kitchen and she thought she heard one of the cars pull out of their driveway and someone moving around in the attic. She didn't suspect too much even though he obviously wasn't playing with Mittens. She looked over at her clock which read: _9:30_. She slowly rose out of her bed, being careful not to disturb Mittens, stretched and went downstairs, not going directly to the kitchen. She had to find Lightning first. She searched through the upstairs level, then through the basement, still no sign of her friend. She began to worry. Then decided to check in the kitchen where she heard breakfast being prepared, she assumed that was where her dog was. She came in to her surprise seeing her father make the breakfast. "Good morning," he greeted, a warm smile on his face.

"Hi, daddy," she responded, scanning the room for Lightning, with no success. More worry entered her heart. "Where's Lightning?"

Adam stopped for a moment. _What do I tell her?_ His mind panicked. _I thought she'd be back by now._ "Uh...well, he uh..." he stuttered, trying not to act like he didn't know. "Well, your...your grandfather took him to work for this morning."

What? She thought she heard a car leave early this morning, but she assumed it was Adam as Penny never normally left for work during the summer. "Why? What would he need him for?" she asked, hoping she wouldn't receive the answer she was thinking of, that he needed him for testing like a common lab rat.

"Well...a lot of his...friends, heard a lot about him and wanted to actually see him. But he should be back..." Then he saw one of their two cars pull up and sighed in relief. "now."

She almost jumped at the sight of him and ran out to the front porch where Lightning bounded into her arms. She laughed as she fell back onto the floor, Lightning covering her face with licks. She giggled and tried to push him off herself. "Hey where've you been boy?" she laughed. "Mom...why did grandpa need him at work? Did he...?"

"Well, he just...some of his friends wanted to see him," Penny lied, to her own daughter. "Sorry honey, we hoped to have him back before you woke up."

"Well," Emily turned back to her friend. "At least you're back now, hey boy! You wanna..."

Emily's smile faded almost instantly when her eyes came across the thick, black mark on his side. In the shape of a lightning bolt. Her eyes widened. "Mom..." she started cautiously, keeping her eyes fixed on the mark. "What's...what is...that?"

She pointed to the mark. "Well..." Penny stuttered, thinking back to the excuse Mark used. "While...Lightning was there, one of the employees put that there. You know, because it fits his name..."

She continued to stare at the black streak across his side, "Well...it'll come off though, right?"

"Of course sweetie, I'm sure," Penny lied again, smiling.

"Okay," she responded, kissing her dog on the head. "Come on boy, breakfast!" She eagerly stood up and ran back into the house, Lightning on her heels.

Penny smiled and walked in also by her husband who had just given Emily breakfast. Penny waited until she had left the kitchen, then turned to Adam. "Well, it worked," she said glumly.

"Well...that's good," Adam replied. "He's all set now, I know you didn't want it to happen at all but..."

"What happens when the side effects kick in?" she cut in, a worried expression coming across her face. "She'll know we did something to him and..." She looked down. "I don't want her to worried about him, or upset with _us_."

"Neither do I, but it's going to be worth it, Penn," he said in a stern tone. He sighed and lifted her chin, and looked into tear-filled, hazel brown eyes. "It'll be okay, he'll be alright and be there for her, and we don't know if she'll be alone, Calico might not be able to catch us all. But..." His voice trailed off. "She's strong, and with Lightning, she'll be fine. Don't worry."

Penny tightly embraced him, letting her tears run into his shoulder. "Who's worried?"

* * *

"So, what did you do there?" Mittens inquired, lying next to Lightning as he was begging for scraps while Emily was watching the beginning of the twenty-fifth season of Spongebob Squarepants, though she already knew the answer.

"Mom, it was weird," he said, looking down at the mark on his side, as concerned about it as Emily was. "They put me in this...chamber thing, and then there was all these zaps of lightning, I think, and all these monitors with different pictures of me and my legs and after it all, I had this mark and I've felt really weird and...what happened?"

Mittens felt she was about to burst out crying. She knew exactly why, but she couldn't tell him. "I...don't honey," she responded, holding her tears back as best as she could. "Are...are you feeling alright? Do feel anything...unusual? Does anything hurt?"

"Nothing hurts, but I'm feeling weird," he said. "I don't know what's wrong but...it feels like something else is..._here_. Something's inside me, I...I can't quite place what it is."

"Well," she started. "Remember what your father said, 'No matter what life throws at you, care for others before you care for yourself.' So don't worry too much about it, you don't want Emily worrying about it."

He looked back at Emily, who was occasionally glancing at the mark on his side. What was it? Why was it there only when he came back from Mark's testing building? Different questions were ran through Emily's head every time she looked back at the mark. _It _is_ just some ink right? It doesn't hurt him, does it?_ She shook them all from her mind and turned to him after finishing her breakfast. "You wanna go play outside Lighty? Huh? Do ya?" she continually questioned, energetically. Lightning bark happily and chased her out of the den, through the living room and out the door Emily grabbed the small rubber carrot and ran outside into their front yard. "Come on, boy," she yelled to Lightning, grinning ear to ear.

Lightning happily followed her barking and jumping in an effort to grab the chew toy out of her hand, with no progress. Although he felt something strange come over him, he felt he was jumping higher, like he could tell how high the toy was in the air and calculate how much momentum he would need. He was confused and tried to shake it off and focused on where he was, "You ready boy?" she said as she prepared to throw the toy. "Go get it!"

She launched it across the lawn and Lightning quickly ran after it. That was when he felt the strange feeling again. He could almost see how fast it was going and knew how fast to run. All this was overwhelming to him and he didn't see what was ahead and tripped, rolling head first along the grass coming to rest at the medium sized oak tree shading their yard. Emily gasped and ran over to him. "Are you okay boy?" she asked with concern.

Lightning slowly picked himself up off the ground and shook his head. _That was weird. Dad was right, I _should_ just keep my head where I am._ He looked back up at her worried face and smiled. Then looked over for the small carrot chew toy and joyfully leapt over to it, rolling over on his back, chewing on it playfully. _I'm fine. I'm..._ He saw that Emily wasn't looking at him anymore, she had gone back to the front door where Penny was standing. "Mom, what is wrong with him?!" she shouted in a tone Lightning had never heard her use before. "Why is he acting like this? He's been like this ever since you brought back from there? What did you do him?!"

"Lower your voice!" Penny scolded. "And your grandfather hasn't done a thing to him! You know that! I don't know why he tripped just now, but it has nothing to do with that trip to Bendon. I promise you that!"

"Really?" Emily responded, not changing her tone. "Then what it that mark on his side, huh? What is that?"

"I told you, it's a simple ink tattoo or something. I'm sure it will come off!"

"Or _something_?!" she roared, startling Lightning, not use to his owners talking this loud. "You don't know?! How do you know they didn't test on him? What else don't you know?"

"_Watch your tone_!" Penny shouted, much louder this time. "Nothing happened to Lightning while he was at Bendon except for a simple little prank, that's it! Now don't you _dare_ yell at your parents for a simple coincidence!"

Emily sighed and looked back at Lightning, who was wagging his tail, happily but slightly scared that they would turn their anger on him. Emily slowly approached her mother, "I'm sorry mom. Will...it come off?" she said in a saddened tone.

Penny sighed also and knelt down beside her. "I'm sure, with a little soap and water," she replied calmly.

Emily stood there for a moment, then called Lightning into the house.

* * *

It didn't come off. No matter how hard Emily scrubbed. The mark didn't even fade, in fact the water seemed to make it darker. She had been washing him in their bath tub for nearly two hours, and the mark still remained fused on his fur. She sat back against the bathroom wall and sighed. Had her own mother lied to her? She had to know. She dried Lightning and then marched down the stairs to the kitchen where Penny and Adam had just laid dinner out. "Oh, Emily, there you are," Adam said smiling. "I was just about to..."

"Dad, the mark didn't come off," she cut in.

"Well, I'm sure it'll fade away in time honey," Penny assured. "Come on, sit down."

Emily spent the meal worrying about him. Not only that the mark had stained his beautiful white fur, but it might be affecting him, she wondered if it put some sort of chemical in his bloodstream that made him act like he did. As she was assisting Adam clear the table, she finally asked him. "Daddy, what's wrong with Lighty? Do you think that got into his body somehow?"

Adam chuckled, trying to smile as he knew the answer perfectly well and also knew he had to lie to his daughter. "I'm sure it didn't hurt or affect him in any way," he said. "And even if anything _did_ happen to him, we..." His voice faded off, _we would lie to you._ "we would tell you."

"Well, I don't think you have," she replied coldly, catching more of her father's attention. "Why don't you ever tell me anything about grandpa's workplace?"

"Honey, it...it's secret, if we told you, he could lose his job."

"Even if it involves my dog?" Adam's attention turned away from the dishes and concentrated on her.

"Emily, we told you, nothing happened to Lightning. And even if something did, you know we couldn't tell you."

"What? You don't _know_ if something happened to him?!" Emily shouted, raising her voice to the level that scared Lightning. "What did you do?! Just give him to grandpa so he could experiment on him? You just gave him away?!"

"No, Emily! We know that _nothing_ happened to him! Your mother was there the entire time, and..."

"REALLY? Because she obviously _wasn't_ there when that guy put that mark there! What else didn't happen when she wasn't there?" Emily was almost screaming.

"You watch the way you talk to us, young lady!" he yelled. "And I told you, we can't tell you about anything at that place! We know that there is nothing wrong with him whatsoever!"

"Why can't you just tell me?!"

_We're terrible parents who lie to their own daughter._ Adam sighed, "We just...can't" he calmed down. "I'm sorry, but I don't any more than you do, and even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Now go up to your room, and cool off!"

She sneered, "Fine," she picked Lightning up in her arms. "He'll be safe there."

With that she marched away, Adam was about to call after her, when he felt Penny's hand on his shoulder. "Let her go," she said softly.

He sighed and watched her march angrily up the stairs. Then he wrapped his arms around Penny who was crying. "She'll be okay," he reminded her. "Should one of us stay here? Calico's men are already in the town."

Penny shook her head dolefully, "Only for tonight, if one of us is guarding here, they'll be suspicious and start looking all over for her. We have to leave her here. But she'll be fine, she'll never be alone."

He kissed her on the head. She hated the fact of leaving her own daughter out in the cold world. But at least she wasn't alone. She was never alone. _I'm so sorry._

* * *

Emily stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her, making Mittens jump off the bed. She gently laid Lightning on the bed and plopped herself down on it. "I heard the entire thing, are you alright?" Mittens asked.

"Fine," Lightning replied, fearing she would turn her anger on him. "They were talking about me and...I don't think she knows about what happened."

_I know._ Mittens thought as she lied back down on the bed. Lightning's fear vanished when he saw Emily calm down and smile warmly at him. "Hey boy," she said, pulling him into her lap. "It's okay, I won't let them hurt you."

Lightning relaxed as well and snuggled into her side as she lay down on the bed. He looked at Mittens. "I guess it's...all going to be alright after a bit. Right mom?"

Mittens sighed and licked his nose. "Yes sweetie," she said warmly. "It will all get better soon. Just sleep"

Lightning smiled and complied, even though Mittens knew things would worsen before they ever improved.


	5. Chapter 4: Truth Revealed

Chapter 4: Truth Revealed

The mark was bothering Emily more than ever. She continually kept looking at it in case it ever might grow or turned out to be radioactive. She had awoken happy to see her friend, but not to see the mark was still on his side. She ate her breakfast then took him to the dog park in Silverlake, not saying a single word to Penny or Adam. She was still furious at them for not telling her what happened to Lightning. She knew something happened. But her own parents wouldn't tell her. That would change, she would make sure of it.

As for Lightning, he didn't enjoy seeing his person this upset. Was it because what happened back at the lab? Most likely. She didn't like. He tried to comfort her by rubbing up against her leg. She smiled at this and patted his head, though he could still sense her worry and discomfort for the mark. She reached the local park in the peaceful town of Silverlake, where her worry died down a bit. She was in a happy place with her dog, who was still the same, playful, energetic puppy she had come to love. She disconnected him from the leash, as most of the people of Silverlake were so accustom to seeing Bolt off the leash and knowing Penny was never far away, they figured the same laws applied for Emily and Lightning. And they did. A wide grin came across Emily's face as she pulled the smiling rubber carrot from her pocket. "You want it boy?" she said in an encouraging tone. Lightning barked happily.

Emily's smile grew. The mark problem could wait.

* * *

After playing in the park for about an hour and a half, Emily collapsed on one of the many benches the park offered. Though not knowing it, it was the same one her mother had sat on over twenty years ago. The day Calico kidnapped her father, and ruined her life. It wouldn't happen to her that way. Not there at least. Lightning jumped up beside her on the bench and licked her sweat covered face. She giggled and pushed him away and looked lovingly into his eyes, he loved looking into her emerald green eyes that were inherited from her father. She kissed him on the forehead. "You're my good boy," she whispered softly, keeping her thoughts off the mark.

"Hey Emily!" a male voice called out from behind them.

Emily sighed and looked back at where the voice came from to see a boy with blond hair approaching them from the right of the bench, a wide grin on his face. It was her friend, named Jon. She wasn't unhappy to see him, but she hoped she could simply spend the day with Lightning. She liked Jon. He was a dog lover like her, and was almost always positive. He was about the only friend she saw over the summer, and though he never admitted it, she knew he had a crush on her. She was grateful he didn't constantly try to woo her into going on a date like some of the other boys of her school (who were constantly drooling over her). Emily didn't consider herself to be neither popular _or_ attractive, but a few of the other kids of the school (mainly males) thought otherwise. But perhaps what annoyed her most was that they already wanted to begin dating at age nine or ten. She liked just being friends with Jon, though he admired his looks and might even occasionally stare at him when he wasn't looking (ironically as this was how some of the boys annoyed her). "Hi Jon," she greeted warmly.

Jon returned a smile and patted Lightning on the head. "How's it go..." he trailed off as his eyes fixed on the mark. "What's that? A tattoo?"

Emily sighed, all of the events of the previous day flashed through her head. "I...don't know," she admitted, looking down.

"You don't know?" Jon echoed, sitting next to them. "Well, when did it get there?"

"When my mom took him to my grandpa's workplace, she said some of the workers there wanted to see him, and that one of them put that there as a prank," she explained, trying not to sound as upset as she was. "I tried to wash it off but it's like it's fused onto his body. I think they did some sort of tests on him or..."

She stopped and stared at the mark as it faintly glowed, then returned to normal. She blinked wondering if she had actually saw what she did. But Jon had seen it too, and she could tell Lightning felt it. She felt anger build up inside her. _Mom, dad...what did you do?_ She clenched her fist on the side of the bench. Jon noticed this and cautiously took her other hand. "Hey...are you alright?" he asked gently.

_The real question is 'is my dog alright?'_ She sighed and unclenched her fist, this was another way Jon showed his affection for her without revealing that he loved her. She smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "I just wish I knew what was wrong."

"Relax," he responded. "I bet he's just fine, but if you really want to know what happened, why don't you just ask your mom? She'll probably tell you. You're her daughter, aren't you?"

_It doesn't matter._ She thought grimly. But, regardless, she _was_ her daughter, and Emily had to find out what they did to her dog. And she was going to. "Maybe you're right," she said, standing from the bench, Lightning instinctively rose also and followed her. "I'm gonna find out." She began to walk home as it was almost noon, she briefly saw Jon stand as well and hesitantly watch her walk away. She stopped and looked back at him. "Something you wanted to tell me?"

"Well...um," he stuttered nervously. "D-do you think...you could, I don't know, go get lunch...together, or something?"

She smiled. _A date? Seriously?_ "Sure," she answered. "Maybe, next Saturday?"

Jon was taken aback by the answer. He tried to speak his own answer, but just ended up nodding. She laughed quietly and continued to walk back home with Lightning close behind. She felt it was the beginning of something that would proceed to be a little more than a close friendship. But she wasn't going to think about it then. Not until she knew the truth about her dog.

* * *

"Everyone's evacuated sir," a security guard with the Bendon industries logo on his chest reported to Mark.

"Good, get yourself out," Mark answered, looking over a to-do list to ensure he hadn't missed anything. He had swept his computer of all the files on the animal enchantment and altercations, but not everything so Calico wouldn't be suspicious that they were trying to hide something. They knew he was coming, they all knew what he was going to attempt. They had to be ready. And they were.

Mark regretted having to send his co-workers into hiding. But he couldn't allow them to be captured, or worse. "That's it, everyone's out," he heard a voice from behind him.

Mark turned to see Adam and Penny enter his office, both with bullets of sweat covering their faces. He was grateful for their help, but saddened by the fact that not only Penny was going through a similar event like the last time. But Emily was going through exactly the same thing as last time. _If only you could be here Bolt._ He thought as he looked at a picture of Penny and Bolt sitting in the front yard of their old house. If Bolt _was_ there, they could've left Emily and Lightning out of it completely. Living a perfectly normal life. But no, nether fate or Calico would allow that. "Good, you made sure everything's ready back home in case you can't make it back to Emily?"

"We _know_ we can't make it back to Emily," Penny said sorrowfully. "Calico's men have already come into Silverlake. We'd never make it back to the house unrecognized."

Adam put his arm around her reassuringly and stated, "But we can still warn her. We have a feature that's sort of like a video chat. We can deliver live videos from our phone to our computer or almost any other screen in our house."

"Good, but do it fast. If Calico's men are in the town already, they'll be here in a matter of minutes." Mark saw Penny's look of despair, despite her trying to hide it. He came over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, she's strong just like you. She can do this."

"She _won't_ do what I did dad," she responded, with a concerned look. "She's going to do what you originally told _me_ to do. Go into hiding, and _not_ to look for us."

Mark sighed and smiled, "Okay, but if she is anything like you, which she is, she probably won't listen."

Penny smiled back at him, "She can be a little rebellious," she noted. "She gets that from your family." Penny looked, almost annoyed at Adam.

"Wha..? Me?" he rebutted innocently.

"Not so fast," Mark laughed. "Penny, our family has their own little history of some..."

"_Mark_!" the frantic voice of the guard they had spoken to earlier came through Mark's radio. "Calico's men are here!"

Smiles vanished from all three of their faces. "We don't have much time," Penny said, quickly pulling her phone out and heading out of the office to a safer location. "Buy me as much time as you can, I need to warn Emily!"

"You bet!" Adam shouted, running down to the main office areas.

Penny found a large storage room, ran into it, and slammed and locked the door, reminding her of what happened to her father. She quickly pulled her phone out and accessed the video chat feature. _Technology, these days._ She thought as she speedily dialed their home phone number. She decided to contact the television since Emily usually watched it while eating lunch, and crossed her fingers. The line was up and the television was already on. Emily was aware of the video features of their house, so she knew how to respond. Penny heard Calico's men burst through the main entrance. Time was very limited now. She awaited the response, praying Emily wasn't too mad at her to answer. She wasn't, she probably wanted answers to what happened to Lightning. She was about to receive them...and much more.

Penny released a huge sigh of relief when she saw Emily's face appear on the screen, with Lightning and the rest of their den. _I'm sorry Emily. But it's time._ She had to do what her father had done to her, loaded a ton's worth of responsibility onto her own daughter. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for her last conversation with her daughter. "Emily!" she said frantically. "Listen sweetie, I don't have much time."

* * *

Emily came in the front door. She was ready. She called out for Penny, with no response. She looked around to see there was no car in the driveway, she then proceeded to the kitchen as it was lunchtime and it was the traditional place for a notification of where either of her parents were when away. She looked over the counter, then the fridge. Still nothing. Emily was confused. Normally when she was home alone, either or both Penny and/or Adam would leave some sort of note informing her of where they were. But there was not even the slightest hint of any sort of note. She was partially concerned, but mostly upset. She wanted answers. But she had to wait. _Great. Now, no note. What else aren't they telling me? I'm not even their daughter?_ She shook the thought from her head, remembering how well her parents had treated her before. They wouldn't. She put it aside and fixed herself lunch, of course, occasionally feeding Lightning a scrap. Then she proceeded into their den, turning on the television. She ate her lunch, doing her best to keep her mind off of the mark. Just as she was finishing, she heard something ring. She looked back expecting to see their phone lit up with the identification of the caller. But it was silent. She was confused once more, she shrugged, thinking about how complex the phone system of their house was. She turned her attention back to the television to see the caller identification appear on the screen. People could call through the television? She was surprised at this and saw that the caller was Penny. _Probably just testing it._ Then she smiled. _Perfect. Time for answers, mom._ She looked on the remote for the answer button and pressed it. Her mother's surprisingly worried face flashed into the screen.

"_Emily_!" Penny said, frantically.

"Mom," Emily responded casually. "I think it's time you told me what you..."

"Just listen sweetie! I don't have much time," she cut off.

"What? You don't have time for your own daughter?"

"Just _listen_!" she snapped, then calmed down. "You need to listen to me very carefully, honey. Okay?"

Emily was taken aback by this. "What...what do mean? Where are you?" she asked, noting the unfamiliar background .

"Bendon industries," she answered, then continued as Emily was about to ask another question. "Don't talk, just listen! I...I'm afraid...we lied to you, Emily, we _did_ do tests on Lightning." Emily gasped. She knew it. "I'm so sorry honey. I wanted to keep you out of this, but we have no choice now."

"Why...?" Emily stuttered. "What did you..."

"Listen! There's something I haven't told you about me or your father. You see honey, well, when I was a few years older then you are now, your grandfather was kidnapped." At this point, both Emily and Lightning were unsure what to think. Suddenly Penny calls with urgent news and this story only days after Lightning was altered? "Alright? He was kidnapped by a man named Doctor Calico. And I...well, we, your father and I, along with Bolt, you remember him, don't you? We went on a mission all over the globe, trying to get my dad back. And that's...how your father and I fell in love." Penny smiled briefly at the memory.

"Oh...okay, so...you and dad and Bolt went on this mission to try and save grandpa, and..." Another thought came into Emily's mind. "Was...Bolt altered too?"

"Yes," Penny responded. "Same as Lightning is, I was upset too sweetie, but it had to be done. Lightning's now stronger, he's faster, he has powers, and most importantly, he can protect you now. As Bolt protected me. So, eventually, we defeated Calico and, obviously, got your grandfather back."

"Okay," Emily was beginning to feel a bit more excited now, but it quickly died down. "So, if you altered Lightning, what does he need to protect me from?"

"Calico," Penny answered. "He's escaped and now he's coming after us. _All_ of us, including you. He wants the...thing your grandfather used on Bolt, so that's means he'll be coming after you. I know this may be hard to understand right now, but you have to..." Suddenly a loud crash was heard from the background. The guards had reached Penny in the storage room. "_Dang it_! Emily, listen, I'm running out of time! You need to run and hide from Calico, the house isn't safe anymore, you have to leave now! Everything you need is in the attic above your room, everything! I left you a note on how to use it."

Just then, two black-suited guards came from behind and attacked Penny. She swiftly punched the first guard in the stomach, causing Emily's view from Penny's cell phone go black for a moment, then Penny returned to the screen after she incapacitated the other guard. "Hey!" Emily was growing frantic now, her own parents history was just revealed to her and they were being kidnapped! In addition to learning about Lightning and hearing, for the first time, her mother swear. "M-mom, do...do want me to call the police? Or...wait, now I have to go against Calico with Lightning?"

"_Neither_!" she shouted, kicking another guard out of sight. "The police won't believe you, and you can't go looking for me. Do you understand? You have to run and hide like I did, only you have to stay hidden! It's the exact same thing your grandpa told me to do. Only you have to listen. You _cannot_ be captured by Calico. Lightning's powers will prevent that. Okay? Do you understand?"

Emily didn't realize it be she had stood up from his place, and was standing there in shock. "But...what about you? Who's going to save you? And daddy and grandpa?"

"We're not important, what's important is that you stay out of Calico's sight. _You_ and Lightning are the key. We'll be fine as long as you stay hidden. Oka..."

Then one of the guards wrapped his arm around Penny's neck. Emily screamed, "Mom, MOM!"

Penny grabbed the man's arm and threw him over her back flat on the floor. "Emily, I'm sorry it has to be like this, but it'll be alright, just do as I say and you'll be fine. I love you so much, honey, your father and I both do. Be strong...Be safe." Then another guard put his arm around Penny's throat. "Goodbye." Penny said, then the screen went black.

* * *

Penny disconnected the line, then threw the phone down on the floor before Calico's henchmen could grab it. It shattered instantly. A tear came from her eye as the men in black harshly escorted her away. _Goodbye, Emily_. She thought, knowing that was the last time she would ever see her daughter.


	6. Chapter 5: Growing Knowledge

Chapter 5: Growing Knowledge

Emily stared at her reflection in the black screen of the television in shock. The same screen that her mother was on seconds ago, unloading years worth of information that they were hiding from her all at once, including the truth about Lightning. And now she had to _run_? It had to be a dream. No, a nightmare. She quickly ran back to the kitchen and splashed a handful of water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up. But, unlike a dream, she felt the cold water run off her face. It was real. She dried her face off and began to panic, she looked at Lightning who had an equally confused expression covering his face. She ran over to him and tightly hugged his neck. "What's...happening, boy?" she asked shakily, wishing she could receive and answer.

"I don't know, Emily," he answered, knowing she couldn't understand. "It's okay, I'm here."

He was also confused. First those experiments, now Penny was kidnapped? What was happening? He tried to calm himself, understanding part of the message, he had to protect her from these...Calico...people. But how? What could that experiment allow him to do? Emily looked at him. "Are...you okay?" she had to know. She knew they did something to him. But what were these powers? She was going to find out. She calmed herself, and put the fact that she was being forced from her own house aside. She had to find these tools that would help her. _The attic._ She had never entered it before. But she knew how to enter it. She peered up expecting to see a bunch of dusty old furniture or storage boxes, there was some. She found the boxes of supplies right away with a note on top. She took a deep breath and took the note of the top and read it.

_Emily,_

_if you are reading this, you know we have been captured. In these boxes are all that you'll need to hide from Calico. He _will_ come looking for you so you don't have too much more time in Silverlake. Again, these boxes have everything you need and instructions on how to use them. You'll need to leave town and lay low for a couple months until Calico lightens up on the search for you, if he knows about you (and he doesn't), and use these items to start your new life, until at least half of a year after. Then you can travel north up to your father's parents, grandpa and grandma Hendrick. They know about this and will take care of you. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but it'll be alright. You're strong and I know you'll make it through this. Don't try to find us, yes Lightning is altered but it's to _keep_ you from being captured by Calico. He's altered to protect you. We'll be fine and I'm sure you can come back to Silverlake eventually. _

_We'll miss you, but things will be normal before you know it. Your father and I love you very much sweetheart._ _We always will._

Emily put the note aside. _Normal is leaving my home and never seeing my parents again?_ She opened the first box, which contained smaller boxes. One revealed a large amount of money, her eyes widened. She read another note. _Use this wisely._ She pocketed the money and opened the other two mini boxes. One revealed a phone with a built in radar, and the other had a grappling hook with launcher. Then she entered the second which had a bulky compact, electronic scooter, with another note explaining the features, which were a metal bar that could launch for Lightning to grab onto, and holder for the radar in her phone, and a hover feature enabling her to rise off the ground up to six to ten feet. She pondered if it was originally going to be a present. She looked in the third and final box saw a large, red backpack, larger than her normal one and it was water proof, and a pair of binoculars which had large array of buttons on it. She transferred most of the contents of the boxes into the backpack and lugged it over her shoulder. She grunted, adjusting to the large amount of weight. "Okay Lightning," she said, petting her friend's head. "Let's go."

She climbed down the stairs back into the hallway and looked into her room for anything else she could use. She took the personal sum of money she had in a small box on her bookcase. Then she remembered Mittens, who was sleeping on her bed. She quickly took her in her arms and also grabbed the family picture she had for a reminder. She glanced around her room looking for anything else she could use. Then she heard the front door slam open. "Search this level!" a male voice shouted. "We'll check upstairs!"

Emily gasped. Calico's men had already reached the house. She lingered there too long! Lightning growled as they heard the guards run up the steps. "No!" Emily warned, too loud.

She quickly grabbed Lightning and her items and darted into her closet, sliding the door shut. She backed into a corner and held Lightning and Mittens close to her.

"Mom," Lightning whispered. "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Just be quiet honey," Mittens told him, holding him close as well.

They heard the footsteps, but couldn't tell where they were coming from. They heard indistinct orders, growing louder. Another door slammed open, this one closer. Lightning could feel her heart almost pounding through her chest. He stiffened up as well. _Can I use these...powers?_ The guards started rummaging through the bedroom, then, one of them, ripped the closet door open. "HA!" he shouted, as if it was a triumph.

Emily closed her eyes and held Lightning tight to her, waiting for a cold hand to pull them from their spot. She opened one eye to see the closet door was still shut. The guards were in her parents' bedroom! "Way to go, you opened a door," a sarcastic voice said. "Let the whole neighborhood know, why don't you?"

"Watch it!" the guard snapped back. "This whole thing is a waste of time! If they knew we were coming, what would they leave at the house for us to find? They've gotten rid of everything!"

"Well they put it somewhere," the other voice retorted. "Remember? The professor left it in the town pet store for his daughter to find. They put it somewhere!"

"And that's another thing! Penny never had any kids! What's the point of leaving anything?"

"We don't know if they had a kid, and for God's sake, _keep your voice down_! The whole neighborhood's going to be calling the cops! Now go look in the other rooms."

Emily gasped again. She had to leave. They couldn't find her. They couldn't know about her, otherwise, they would pursue her endlessly, and tear the house apart. She quietly rose from her spot and slowly opened the sliding closet door. She peered out, seeing no one in her room. Lightning went out before her to make sure it was safe. She tiptoed to her door and looked into the hallway. She darted back in seeing a black-suited man approach. Lightning growled, Emily quickly put her hand over his mouth, shushing him. She looked in her bag and found a small grappling hook. They went over to the window and hastily opened it. Securely attaching the hook to the windowsill and holding Mittens firmly in her arms, Emily slid down, praying no one would see her. She gently touched down on the front lawn, seeing a large black car parked in front. Then, her bedroom door slammed open. "_Hey_!" he shouted.

Emily looked around to see Lightning was still in the window. The man in the black suit grabbed him by the collar. "NO!" Emily screamed, terrified. Then something happened that Emily couldn't see. There were a few thuds, followed by a bright green light, then the man came falling out of the window, screaming until he hit the grass. Emily screamed also, and ran over to Lightning who's fall was cushioned by the henchman who had two burnt marks in his shoulder. She got on her knees and examined Lightning for any injuries. She found none and wondered what had happened until there was a large amount of commotion from the house. She quickly put the backpack on and ran away from the site, she looked back for Lightning who was growling at the still breathing man. "Lightning come _on_!" she called, pleadingly.

Lightning looked back at her and ran after her. "You got lucky," he said to the groaning man as he ran. "Mom, what's going on?" he asked as he caught up with Mittens.

"I'll tell you later," she responded being picked up by Emily who had stopped.

_Tell me later?_ Yes. She knew. She knew all along. _Why didn't you tell me?_

He stopped also and looked back to see what Emily had stopped for. She was looking back at their house, with the sad knowledge that they couldn't go back. Ever. He looked down, also depressed, but they had to keep moving if they were to escape. He whined. She looked back at him and knew what he was trying to communicate. They all took one final look back at the house, then walked towards town. None of them knew where they were going. But they knew they had to get as far away as they could from the only home they ever knew.


	7. Chapter 6: Leaving Home

Chapter 6: Leaving Home

_Sorry I didn't say this before, but before I continue, I dedicate this story to the three best FanFic authors ever, Australian Chaos, 8MilesThatWay, and JimmyRocket. You rock._

Emily walked towards town at a brisk pace, still unaware of where she was going. Lightning was especially vigilant, there could be more of those men in black suits in town. Meanwhile, Emily wondered where they would stay until she could go to her grandparents. There were some hotels along the highway that was just outside the town, then there was Jon. No, she had to leave the town. _Maybe he could help me get away...No! If Calico's men find out they helped me, they'll capture them too!_ She sighed, she didn't have much of a choice. She knew they couldn't make it walking, plus she could feel Mittens stomach rumbling as she was carrying her. She decided to look where she last saw him. The park. She walked in and started scanning the area for him, ducking for cover whenever a black car passed, not checking if it was Calico or not. Fortunately, the person to question her actions, was Jon. "Emily?" he said, walking over to the tree she was crouched behind. "What are you doing? Hide and seek or..." The rest was cut off as Emily pulled him down with her, shushing him. "Yes, then?"

"No!" she warned, silencing him again. "Stay down, I have to hide!"

"From who?"

Emily sighed, and decided to explain the situation. She informed him of the message her mother sent her about Calico and how she needed to run away so he couldn't capture her. Jon thought she was kidding at first, but he could see the worry and confusion in her eyes. "Well...what can I do?" he asked when she finished explaining.

Emily thought for a moment. "I need to get out of town."

"Okay," he responded, taking her hand. "Let's go to my house, my dad'll take us."

_Us?_ "Jon wait," she halted. "Calico will come after you if he finds out you helped me. You'll...have to hide until this is over, you and your family."

Jon sighed, "If it means getting you to safety, then..." his voice trailed off as he stiffened up.

"What?" Emily inquired as a hand came on her shoulder. She screamed and spun around to face the man behind her. Lightning growled and prepared to attack, only to see the man wasn't wearing a black suit, but a coat with the Bendon industries logo on the front. It was Mike. "It's okay, it's alright, I won't hurt you!" he assured, holding his arms out in front of him. "I'm just trying to help."

Emily clutched Mittens tightly in her arms as she nearly dropped her. "Who...who are you?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm a friend of your grandfather," he answered. "He told me to help you in any way I can. Now we have to get you out of town, Calico's men are everywhere! You're not safe here."

"Well..." she started, looking at Jon. "I kind of have a ride already but if you..."

"I don't think that'll work, I don't want...what's your name kid?" he asked Jon.

"Jon," he replied hesitantly.

"I don't want Jon and his family to have to go into hiding too. He can come along for part of the way, but I don't want Calico knowing he _and_ his family are involved."

Emily looked at Jon, then she looked back at Mike. "Okay, I have everything I need, Jon?"

"I just need to stop at my house and tell my folks where I'm at, and I'll be good," he responded.

"Okay come on, we don't have much time, Calico's men are constantly sweeping the streets for you."

"We'll be safe if we can make it out of town," Emily reminded him, gently slipping Mittens into her backpack.

"Right, stay close." Mike carefully scanned the park, then lead Emily and Jon out of the park to a small open lot.

First stop was Jon's house, they remained there for four or five minutes, then Jon returned to Mike's car. "What'd you say?" Emily asked when he climbed in.

"I was going to a sleepover at a friend's house," Jon replied. "He lives just out of town."

"What happens when your parents call his house?"

Jon smiled mischievously, "Let me worry about the details."

Emily rolled her eyes and went back gently stroking Lightning and Mittens who were sitting on her lap. Now, the mark was the least of Emily's worries. There were just as many thoughts zooming through her head as there were in Lightning's, some of which were being loading onto Mittens. "Mom?" he asked softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Mittens sighed and snuggled closer to him. "Because your father and I wanted to keep you out of this altogether," she answered. "We thought it was all over. And...we wanted you to have a normal life."

"So, you knew about the power stuff all along?"

"Yes," she answered regrettably. "I didn't want it to happen to you, and if it did I didn't want you to worry about it. Remember I promised your father I would take care of you."

Just then Jon moved up to the front seat and Emily shifted the animals and lied down in the back seat, putting a blanket over them. "Calico's men must be searching the car," Mittens informed.

They lied underneath the sheet for about three or four minutes, each of their heart rates increasing with each passing moment. The car didn't stop but Calico's men were probably watching each individual car somehow. They felt the cars speed elevate. They had reached the freeway. Emily released a sigh of relief when she heard Mike tell her it was clear, she rose from the seat and sat upright, placing Mittens next to her. "I don't think they saw you," Mike told her without looking away from the road. "But be ready, just in case."

Emily nodded and scanned the road for anymore black cars. There were none, she continued to scan until her eyes froze on one thing. Silverlake. Their hometown. Fading into the distance. She kept her watering eyes on it as it sank further and further into the horizon. "We can't go back," Emily choked loud enough for only Lightning to hear. He snuggled up next to her as he too watched until their only home vanished from their sight into the sunset sky. "Goodbye."

Then the two sat back down in their seat as Emily's tears dropped into Lightning's fur.

* * *

Penny, Adam, and Mark were brutally shoved into their poorly lit cell at Calico's main base. Mark sighed and proceeded to almost drop onto the poor excuse for bed built into the floor being exhausted. Adam did likewise and lied on the other small mattress. _What else can we do?_ He looked up at Penny who had a defeated expression on her face. Penny came and lied down next to her husband, who could tell she needed comfort. He folded his hand into Penny's and kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay sweetie," he reassured.

Penny sighed, shakily, "Oh Adam…she must be so scared."

Adam smiled. "Oh come on, this is our daughter we're talking about, she's not scared of anything." Penny chuckled softly.

"Come on, I was scared at first," Penny admitted.

"She'll still be fine," he said. "And besides, she's with Lightning. And he's Bolt's son, that should be enough. She'll be fine."

He stroked her head and moved closer seeing the tears flowing down her cheeks. "I guess so," Penny whispered. "She's got your eyes, your wit, and your sense of humor." She smiled, then looked back down. "I just love her so much. I want her safe."

"I know sweetie, so do I. But she has your quick thinking, and beauty."

"I don't think beauty will help her," Penny answered sharply, then sighed and continued to cry. "Why did we even have to put her into this?"

"Shh, it's okay," he consoled her, kissing her on the head once more.

"What kind of parents are we?"

Adam lifted her head. "We're like any other parents. We want what's best for our daughter, and you've _done_ what's best for our daughter. You're a wonderful parent."

Penny pondered it for a moment, then smiled. "Well, you're a good parent too."

"Not as good as you," he responded, kissing her. "Remember her fifth birthday?"

"How could I forget? But that's nothing compared to what you did whenever she was hurt."

Adam laughed at the memory, and the two continued to share memories until they fell asleep in each other's arms. _She'll be okay. I know she'll be okay. She doesn't have Bolt, but he's just as good. He's her good boy._


	8. Chapter 7: On the Run

Chapter 7: On the Run

"Emily, hey Emily!" Jon called from the front seat, trying to awaken her. "Emily! Wake up!"

Emily gasped as she jolted awake suddenly. "It's okay," Jon said. "It's alright, it's me, remember?"

Emily did remember. One quick scan of the environment, and everything that happened that day flashed through her head instantly. It was already nighttime and they had stopped at a small fast-food restaurant. She sighed and got out of the car. "Hey, are you alright? You seemed a little sad after we left town," Jon noted.

"I'm fine," she responded, leaving the sleeping Mittens in the car. "I'm...just going to miss Silverlake, that's all."

Jon sighed and put his arm around her, "It's okay, I'm sure you'll go back sometime, I'm sure. Come on, let's get some grub."

Emily smiled. "It doesn't sound that appetizing when you put it _that_ way," she joked.

They entered the restaurant, Lightning remained outside and guarded them . Emily and Jon sat at a table while Mike went up front and ordered. Jon looked at her concernedly as she looked down at the table. "You sure you're okay?" he inquired.

Emily looked up, she smiled and said, "Yeah, fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, first of all, your parents were just kidnapped by an evil psycho. Along with the fact that you just left the only home you ever knew with the possibility that you may not ever come back. That's mainly why," he noted.

She sighed and said, "Well, that doesn't mean I'm not okay. I mean...I still have Lightning and Mittens."

"Yeah, but still, if you ever need comfort, I'm here," he remarked.

"Not for long," she said. Jon was confused. "You can't come with me Jon. I can't let you risk yourself trying to save me."

"Emily you can't do this alone, you'll need..."

"And I'm _not_ alone," she cut in. "Lightning will be enough to protect me, and..." Emily looked back down. "I don't want anything to happen to you. _Or_ Mike."

"But..." Adam started.

"No buts, none of Calico's men can know you helped me. I want you to be safe Jon," she sighed.

Jon laid his arms across the table and took her hands. "I know, I want _you_ to be safe. Just a little longer, I want to make sure."

Emily looked up at him and smiled, "Okay, just a little longer, then you have to..."

Suddenly she gasped sharply as she looked to the front of the store, where two more black suited henchmen were standing, scanning the area for her. Jon looked back and his eyes widened as he saw them too. Instinctively, he grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her out of the guards' view to the back of the restaurant and into a restroom. "Jon, let go of me!" she protested, shaking her arm from his grip. "I know what I'm supposed to do."

Jon apologized, "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure."

The two remained silent as they listened to the guards question people in the restaurant. Emily felt her heart rate increase again. Jon felt it also, only it was so strong, he couldn't tell if it was hers, or his own. The mens' footsteps grew louder and louder. Emily covered Jon's mouth as she feared his accelerated breathing would give them away. Then, the footsteps came as close as ever. . _They must be right outside._ Emily thought. Then, one of the henchmen shouted something to the other as there was a loud crash of glass, followed by a terrified scream. As Jon and Emily both sat there wondering what was happening, a single gunshot rang in their ears, followed by another crash, this one much closer. Then two more with another scream in between.

Then all was silent.

The two sat on the floor of the restroom next to the door in silence except for the sound of their heavy breathing. Then the door flew open. Emily nearly screamed until she saw it was Mike. "Come on!" he urged as he lifted them onto their feet. "We have to go, _now_!"

He led them out of the restroom, and to the door, both of them seeing the outcome along the way. Two more henchmen, in the same black suits, lying on the floor. One flipped behind a table, the other had been bashed, headfirst, into a wall. Then, in the middle of it, stood Lightning. Emily's eyes widened. _No, it couldn't have been him. Was it? Is this what mom was saying? What else can he do?_ A dark thought came over her mind. _Are they…dead? No! He didn't, he couldn't. Not my dog…Did he? Could he?_ She had to know for sure. "Are they alive?"she inquired.

"Maybe, I didn't actually see," he answered. "I don't really want to stay around to find out, do you?"

No. Actually she didn't. She knew, Lightning didn't kill them. _He didn't._ She looked down at her dog, who was following them outside. He looked back at her and saw the worry in her eyes. She smiled. Yes, she was happy he was safe, but what was bothering her? _Was it those guys back there?_ It was possible. _I wasn't that rough on them…at least, I don't think I…did I?_ He didn't remember too much when he attacked them after instinct took over. He didn't want Emily or himself to think of him as some sort of killing machine. Not with Emily. No. She raised him better than that, and he knew it. _I didn't_. He concluded as he hopped into the car with them, noticing a large hovercraft in the lot with Calico's emblem on the side.

He climbed into Emily's lap as Mike started his car and speedily drove out of the lot.

* * *

Emily's mind still hovered over the incident at the restaurant, how Lightning had so brutally thrashed the guards looking for them. She didn't want to believe that he killed them, but how could she know? How powerful was Lightning now?

"Emily," Mike said to her, cutting off her train of thought. "It won't be long before more of Calico's men start combing through this area for you. We'll need to drop you off just before this city up ahead." Mike pulled the car over to the side of the road and handed Emily a small, plastic card. "Take this and go to a bus stop, it should be good enough to get you to your grandparents house. You can sleep here tonight, leave in the morning, even if I'm not awake. It shouldn't be too long of a walk to the city. Okay?"

Mike looked back at her, and saw the confusion in her eyes. He sighed. "Hey, it's alright, it'll be okay," he reassured her. "I know it's been a lot today, but it will be okay, I promise." Emily looked up at him and smiled. "Come on, let's get some sleep. And if I'm not awake...be careful out there."

Emily smiled in response. Mike drove the car away from the road and into a small wooded area. Jon climbed into the back behind Emily's seat and watched her for a moment as she lied down next to Lightning and Mittens. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered without looking at him.

He looked down at her for a few more seconds, then lied down also in the back of the car. "I am," she responded, warmly this time. "'Night."

"Good night," he said, as he smiled, and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

_I'm not a killer, I can't be. No. Emily didn't raise me that way. These powers don't change anything. I'm still a good boy. I...I know I am...I didn't kill them. I...I couldn't. Did I? NO! How am I supposed to protect her if I'm a monster?_

"_It's alright son," a familiar voice said._

_Lightning looked around the dark forest he was standing in. "Who...who's there?" he asked. _

_His eyes darted from place to place, seeing nothing but blackness. "It's me." Then he recognized the voice instantly._

"_D-dad?"_

"_Yes son," Bolt responded, smiling. Lightning spun around and gasped to see the white figure of his father. "It's alright."_

"_What...do you mean?" he asked._

"_You aren't a killer, you're just getting used to these powers. I know it's hard, I went through the exact same thing when I was in your position. But it'll be alright."_

_Lightning sighed, "How? How can it be okay if protecting Emily means killing everything in my path?"_

"_It doesn't," Bolt responded. "You don't have to kill at all to save lives. Not if you learn to control your anger. Know when to stop, and use your instincts but don't let them control you."_

"_But..." Lightning stuttered. "Don't they deserve to die for trying to hurt Emily or her family?"_

"_Not necessarily, they're just doing what Calico told them to do. He's the real evil."_

_Lightning was slightly confused, "So I should rely on my instinct, but not entirely?"_

"Dad?" Lightning awoke suddenly and looked around the car seeing Mittens cuddled up next to Emily on the car seat, streaks of golden sunlight leaping through the windows. He sighed, remembering what his father had said to him. Was it real?

Emily gasped as she awoke as well, she rubbed her eyes and looked over at Lightning who's white fur had turned a beautiful golden in the sun. "Hey boy," she greeted warmly, extending her arm to stroke him.

Lightning smiled and walked over to Mittens who was curled up against Emily's chest. "...mm, what?" she said groggily as she lifted herself up and stretched.

"Hi mom," he responded.

"Morning honey," she greeted, smiling also. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I...I had this dream."

"About?" Mittens inquired.

"...I don't know, it..."

"Come on guys," Emily interrupted. "We have to get going."

She picked Mittens up and placed her in her backpack with her head showing, then she quietly opened the car door, seeing that Mike and Jon were still asleep, and climbed out, then walking back out into the open towards the city in the distance. Just as they entered the open, someone shouted Emily's name from behind them. Emily nearly screamed as she spun around only to see Jon running towards them. "Emily," he repeated, catching up to them. "I just wanted...to...I wanted to say good-bye."

"Okay," she replied.

"You know where you're going?" Jon asked.

"I guess I'll figure it out," she answered, looking towards the city.

"It shouldn't be too hard, those passes are accepted pretty much anywhere. Just find a bus stop and..."

"I'm not going to use the bus pass, Jon," she cut off.

Jon was confused, "What...do you mean?"

She sighed, "Jon, I can't just leave my parents, Calico may get what he wants without me, I have to find them."

"But I thought they said to..."

"I know what they said, but...I have to try. They would do the same for me, I have to." Emily looked off to the horizon, trying to hide the tear forming in her eye.

"Okay," Jon said finally. "I understand. Just promise me one thing." Emily looked back at him. "Be careful."

"I will," she whispered.

Jon walked closer and embraced her tightly. Emily did the same to him for about ten seconds. Then the two parted, "I will," she repeated. "Tell Mike I said thanks for everything."

Jon nodded and slowly walked back to the car. Emily looked down at Lightning shared her worried expression. She bent down and kissed him on the head. "Let's go."

Emily looked back at Jon one final time. Then continued towards the city. Lightning's mind continued to hover over his dream. Was it really him? Was it true? Would it help? _I love her, but can I really protect her?_ Only time would tell.


	9. Chapter 8: On Their Own

Chapter 8: On Their Own

_A.N. I know this update is long overdue, and I'm very sorry. I've had a lot to do lately, but all the same. So before I keep you waiting another second, here it is._

* * *

_City of Los Angeles_

Emily stared up at the sign on the side of the highway. She had been here before with her parents a few times, but never alone. This was the farthest she had ever been from home alone. Well, without her parents, she had Lightning, and Mittens, she was never alone with them. Emily looked down at Lightning and smiled, still concerned about his side, but glad he was unharmed. "You ready boy?" she asked enthusiastically. He barked happily in response. "Good." _Me neither._

She checked her bag to make sure Mittens was alright and that she had all of the essentials. She noted her folded up electronic scooter, then she looked off to the city in the distance, it was a least two miles. Why not? She may as well get the hang of riding it, and she didn't feel like walking. _It's not the first time,_ she could almost hear her mother saying. She took the scooter out, secured Mittens and all her other possessions, and put her backpack on. "C'mon boy," she said to Lightning as she secured her helmet. _He's enhanced, but...can he run that fast too?_ She was going to find out.

She started the engine, and revved it up, looking back down at Lightning. Then she started off slowly at first, quickly getting the hang of it. She looked back to see Lightning close behind. "Mom?" Lightning inquired to Mittens who, though secure, appeared to be hanging on for dear life. "How do I keep up?"

"Just run," she replied.

"But, can I..."

"Just _run!_," she repeated abruptly.

He obeyed and began running at a normal pace, Emily decided to speed up a little more, Lightning still managed to keep up, she sighed and pushed it into full throttle. After ten seconds, she remembered to look back for Lightning, but he was nowhere to be seen, she sighed and began to slow down only to see that he was actually _ahead_ of her. She smiled in relief and continued down the side of the road towards the city.

Once they came closer, she decided it would be best to not attract attention and enter on foot. She whistled to Lightning and began to decelerate her scooter.

They stopped roughly half a mile before the city. Emily hopped off her scooter and stowed it back in her backpack. Then they entered the bustling city. The sounds of motors and car horns and senseless shouts grew as they passed the first building. The size of the structures grew as they continued into the city. The number of people on the sidewalks grew, more and more, making Emily decide to put Lightning on a leash, before he was caught by animal control...or worse, attacked the first person who simply bumped her shoulder. As they reached the first intersection, Emily decided it would be best to have breakfast before looking for any whereabouts of Calico. She briefly tied Lightning up outside of a small restaurant, and soon returned with a small meal, but a meal nonetheless. She took a small bite out of her cinnamon roll as she pondered where she would start looking for any clues about Calico, and, more importantly, what she would do if she found any. She laid back against the concrete wall of the alley way they were in and looked up at the sky, watching the birds fly along the air currents, constantly scoping out the city below for bountiful amount of food scraps they were accustomed to. Then her eyes turned to the streets, people walked or drove along to their jobs as they always did without any concern to those for whom every day is a challenge to stay alive. Like them.

Emily offered the rest of her breakfast to Lightning, who accepted it graciously, and buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes. Lightning stopped eating and gently nudged her. She looked up and smiled, "What now, boy?" she asked quietly as she scratched his head.

Lightning sighed. _I wish I knew_. He then turned to Mittens who was lying beside her. He blinked and looked closer at her. At home, lying on carpet or furniture, she looked fine, healthy, even a little younger than she was. But now, on hard, cold concrete, she appeared old, frail, and especially vulnerable. But then again, they all did. "Mom?" he said softly.

Mittens looked at him warmly as she always did. "What honey?"

"W-what _do_ we do now?" he asked timidly.

She sighed and sat beside him, "Don't worry about that sweetie. That's up to Emily. All you need to think about right now is protecting Emily. That's why you're here."

Lightning sighed and looked away. "I...I wish...dad was here."

Mittens nuzzled him. "I know honey," she replied. "I do too, but you'll be just fine, I promise." Lightning tensed suddenly and turned around, looking to the street. Mittens also looked in this direction. "What is it?"

Emily, noticing this as well, grabbed her items, and slowly rose to her feet. They soon saw what he sensed. A black Sedan with a strange cat eye logo cruised down the street, Lightning growled as it passed. Emily stared for a moment as her new objective became clear. She took a deep breath, and then placed Mittens back into her backpack, and looked down at her dog. "Let's go boy," she said as they jogged out of the alleyway, after their target.

* * *

Emily only barely managed to keep up with Lightning, who was flawlessly tracking one of Calico's cars as they followed it through the city streets of Los Angeles. Lightning stopped in front of the entry of a large area of warehouses, where the car had traveled to, to allow Emily to catch up. When she did, she plopped down next to him, breathing heavily as she looked to see where the vehicle had gone. "Okay," she panted, catching her breath. "Let's see what they're up to."

She and Lightning slipped through the front gate and quietly trotted over to one of the warehouses, remaining alert at every door. Reaching the end of it, they cautiously peeked around the corner to see the parked car with several men in either gray suits or black armor walking from the car to the entrance to the house next door, speaking only in mutters to one another. Lightning gave a low growl, and Emily hastily hushed him. But he sensed something else. He turned his head past the men to the corner of the passage way between the houses. Shouting voices...of...police? Some sort of local trouble? Whatever the case, he wasn't the only one. The men by the car had heard this as well and dove into the nearby warehouse. He didn't need to ponder this as he saw why almost instantly, a red sports car full of men in their mid twenties came speeding down the lane closely pursued by two police cars, futilely shouting their orders at them. Emily took a few steps back to avoid being seen. As Lightning did the same, the car turned sharply into the lane they were standing in. "Lightning!" Emily called, seeing the collision course. Lightning was moving out of the way, but not fast enough, as the car accelerated again, it raced straight for him. "_LIGHTNING!"_ she shrieked in horror, as the car drove straight into him.

Lightning could do nothing but brace for impact.


	10. Chapter 9: Picking up bits and pieces

Chapter 9: Picking up bits and pieces

All was black. He could neither see, hear, or feel anything. It was as if someone had placed him in a box. Any form of light or sound or feeling couldn't reach him. He tried to move, but still felt nothing. Tried to open his eyes, but there was no difference.

Until a white blur appeared before him. He focused. It was Bolt. It was his father. "Lightning," he said in a tone that was calm, but in comparison to the silence sounded like a gunshot. "Get up, Lightning, get up son. Emily needs you." Lightning blinked frequently, wondering if what he saw before him was real. "Go."

Without another word, he was flashed back to reality. More like tossed.

He found himself lying face down on cold pavement. He groggily opened his eyes, simply accepting the blinding light, it was the least of his pains. His head throbbed endlessly. He slowly raised his head, sound slowly returned to his senses as well. He heard sirens fading away and police cars coming to a halt. He heard the groggy moans of men in the car next to him. He turned his head to the car, it felt to him as if the car had smashed into him. But when his eyes met the front of the car, only inches away, it appeared that something had hit the car. The front end was completely smashed in, in fact the entire car had somewhat of a resemblance to an accordion. It was a wonder the drug dealers were alive. _Did...did I...?_

More sounds came to him, most in the form of an echo or whisper. But one caught his attention immediately, the faint cry of Emily, his person. At once he returned to his feet, his vision, finally fully operational, came upon a half sobbing Emily, clutching Mittens who looked ready to do the same. "Lightning?" she said softly.

Lightning quickly made his way over to her, staggering and stumbling sideways as if he were drunk. Emily hastily picked him up and carried him into the warehouse and out of sight of the police, even though they were occupied with the arrests. Once safely inside, behind a crate, Emily sat down and clutched Lightning close to her shaking chest. "Are...you okay, boy?" she stuttered finally. She released him to make sure he was unharmed. "You...you...that car, you..."

This confused Lightning, he was now aware the car had hit him. He looked over himself, expecting to see blotches of blood and crippled limbs, but to both of their surprises he was totally unscathed. Come to think of it, the pain in his head had vanished, he felt fine. _What happened?_ He saw Emily was still in deep worry, he licked her cheek to show he was fine. She wrapped her arms around him once again. "I thought I lost you..." she whispered, gently stroking his fur.

Meanwhile, Lightning was still trying to contemplate how he emerged unharmed, or even survived. _I survived with these powers...what else can I...?_ He then turned to the one who he always went to when confused. "Mom?" he asked hesitantly, part of him certain that she wouldn't have a proper answer for this. "What happened?"

Mittens softly nuzzled his cheek, "You were...hit by a car, honey. But you're okay now, it's..."

"No, I mean...how am I alive?"

Mittens went silent and slowly looked down, as he figured she would, not knowing how to explain it. "You...you are..." she hesitated. "You're...a Superdog." She put it flatly. "You have powers, you can do a lot."

"A lot?" he responded, surprised he had gotten an answer. "Like what? What can I do? What am I?"

She knew she would regret saying that. "Well...see...you've learned it already, it's not important anymore." She ended with that, hoping he wouldn't persist.

He did. "Yes, it is important. Tell me what I am," he said in a more impatient tone.

Sighing, Mittens replied, "You are a dog, Lightning. And my son. You know that. Don't ever believe anything else. You just have the ability to help others more than most dogs."

"But, these powers, how do I use them?" Lightning's tone lowered.

"You'll know it when you have to," she said in a loving voice. "You're father did, and..." Mittens stopped. Another sentence she wished she hadn't released.

"Dad?" Lightning's tone was raised again. "Dad...he had these to?" Mittens slowly nodded. "What...what else haven't you told me! How long have you lied to me?" His sudden outburst caught even Emily's attention.

"Lightning!" Mittens snapped. "I've never lied to you, your father and I never kept anything from you!"

"_Then why am I just learning of all this now!"_

"_Because we didn't want you in this!"_ Mittens screamed in the loudest voice she could remember using. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, throat aching from shouting that much. "We didn't want you to get hurt..." Her eyes began watering slightly. "We didn't lie, we just didn't want you to get hurt. We wanted you safe..." She looked away, feeling the tears escaping her eye lids.

Lightning moved from Emily's lap to his mother's side. "I'm sorry, I just...wish I knew what was going on." He gently leaned against her, receiving another nuzzle. Everything else that had happened wasn't important. Though he wanted nothing more than for all of it to end and go back to his home, Mittens and Emily needed him now.

"I know," Mittens whispered. "So do I."

Lightning sighed and turned back to Emily. She had her eyes fixed on something else. A bright light, not part of the building, shining not too far from where they sat. She quietly got up, and walked past the rows of crates towards it, without any signal to either of her pets. _Impulsive._ _Just like her mother,_ Mittens thought as she and Lightning followed. The hushed voices gradually grew louder as she approached. Lightning stood in front of her to prevent her from being spotted. Emily smiled and scratched his head reassuringly.

She then proceeded to move behind another one of the rows of crates, then to another, then another. Until the voices were so loud, she assumed she was right in front of the conversation. Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of her parents. She pulled her phone from her pocket and decided to record all she heard.

"...So once Calico has that area all secured, he'll start the attack," the leader stated to the rest. Emily sighed, frustrated she had missed most of the plan. "That is once the professor decides to spill his guts. Get the picture? Or do I need to run it through your thick skulls again?"

"I...I just don't understand," a meek, younger voice said. "Why won't the professor just cooperate? We have both his daughter, and her husband, why not just submit? There's no hope for rescue, Bolt's dead, and they sold all of his puppies."

"But we don't have the brat's daughter," a burly voice noted. "Once she's captured, and the whole family's together, it'll be smooth sailing."

"She's more of a bitch than a brat now," another voice chuckled, accompanied by the laughter of a few others, silenced by the anonymous leader.

Emily clenched her fists, her hatred for the organization growing rapidly. Lightning feeling the same.

"But how do we know this dog won't be a problem?" yet another voice asked, leading Emily to wonder how many there were. "If he's anything like 'daddykins', he won't let the girl go without a fight."

"How do we even know there is a girl _or_ a dog?" the younger voice spoke up again. "We haven't seen either of them. We don't know if..."

"Why else would they all have been in that same building when we captured them?" the third voice said. They would have scattered as soon as they heard about us. Plus we know there is a dog, otherwise Michael would be here right now. Unless you know of someone else who can shoot lasers from their eyes."

Emily gasped, instantly realizing Lightning had killed that man back in the house. Lightning also took note of this. His head and ears drooped at the knowledge of what he had become. Emily pulled him into her arms and gently stroked him, softly whispering into his ear, "It's okay, you're alright."

_No...I'm not._ Lightning turned away from his mother's worried yet loving gaze.

Emily still kept an ear on the meeting. "And we just managed to spot the girl running from the house. We know they're out there. And once we find them...hell, if we capture the dog, we won't need the professor or his family anymore, we'll already have that...genetic code, or whatever it is Calico wants."

"So, then we'll dispose of them." the burly voice said smugly.

"Oh no," the leader intervened. "We are not to kill any of his family members." Confused whispers filled the room. "Yes, Calico was very specific. We are to bring the professor, his daughter and any of her intermediate family to him alive and unharmed. He wants them all to see his 'improved world.' So, if there's no more questions, you are dismissed. Report back to central command in New Delhi, India once you've made the slightest amount of progress."

The men acknowledged him, began to pack their belongings and dispersed from the area. Some reentering the car outside, others moving inward through the warehouse towards other exits. Emily stopped her recording and placed her phone back in her pocket. She had missed most of the meeting, but those small pieces of information were still a start. She knew where this central command was, and hopefully where her parents and grandfather were being held. But there was still a large amount more to it than just knowing where it was. Emily faced a cold reality: a location was only a small piece to the larger picture of how to stop this threat. But a piece nonetheless. She would have to worry about the larger picture later.

Emily moaned, and rubbed her eyes. She had realized that it would require a great deal of time, thinking and planning. And stress. She turned over to Lightning, who was awaiting her next move. "I guess we're going to India," she told him with a tired expression, less than enthusiastic.

Lightning licked her face, almost to say "I'm ready for anything." She giggled and gave him a kiss in return, proceeding to gather her backpack and Mittens and quietly exit.

She had only taken five steps when she froze up at one of the voices saying, "Wait, quiet! _Quiet!_ I heard something. Someone else is in here!" Followed by large footsteps in her direction.

Without thinking, both Emily and Lightning broke into a sprint.


	11. Chapter 10: On the move

Chapter 10: On the move

Both of them nearly slid behind the nearest crate, once the shadow had entered the passage way between the multiple stacked crates. They both did their best to muffle the sounds of their heavy panting. Emily didn't dare to look around the corner to even see the shadow of the figure standing in the middle of the passage. Lightning, however, did and only saw the shadow up to the feet of the figure, seeing another pair of shoes approach from behind him. "Oh wow," the leader said. "I think you've had a bit too much time on guard duty, Jeff."

Jeff glared back at the leader, "No, I know I heard something. Don't give me that, Bruce. Don't go telling me I'm losing it!" His anger slowly grew as he returned his gaze to Lightning's direction. Lightning quickly ducked behind their cover again, knowing the guard wouldn't stop his investigation that easily. "There's some one here, they were listening in on us. I'm going to find them."

Bruce simply shook his head and walked back. Lightning turned back to Emily and motioned to the passage way behind them. Emily quickly crawled through to the other side, Lightning close behind. They both could hear the approaching footsteps behind them, increasing their pace. Then, before they could round the next corner, a shadow filled their path, accompanied by very loud footsteps. They both skidded to a halt and ran the other way, only to nearly run into Jeff as he came around the corner. Emily let out a startled squeak as she turned the other way, once again, seeing the other shadow coming towards them. The two ducked into a small opening in the line of boxes. "What was that?" Jeff yelled, causing Emily to increase her speed, almost certain he had seen them.

They made their way into yet another passage, only to be halted by another shadow heading their way. Emily nearly shrieked as she grabbed Lightning by the collar and unnecessarily pulled him in the other direction. Seeing Jeff come into the path, they finally found an small crevice in the rows of stacked crates and dove into it. Emily backed herself into a corner, Lightning stood by the entrance, making sure no one had seen them. Jeff passed by, walking towards the other man in the row, asking him if he had seen or heard anything. Lightning couldn't hear anything more after that. After a few minutes of silence, he assumed Jeff had given up his pursuit. Both Lightning and Mittens gave a sigh of relief, he looked back at Emily wagging his tail to say "He's gone." But his relief vanished when he saw Emily's expression, in addition to the tears streaming down her face. His tail and ears immediately drooped, and he walked over to his person's side.

Her arms quickly wrapped around him and held him tight. He could feel that she was trembling, breathing rapidly, and crying. She was scared. Scared by being hunted like an animal. Scared of the men who were trying to kidnap their family. As brave she seemed at times, Lightning was still aware of the fact that she was a nine year-old girl whose family had been abducted and was not even safe in her own home. Now, it wasn't about protecting her, it was about comforting her. She needed it. They all did. Listening to her soft, shaky cries, he wanted nothing more than for it all to end and go back to their home, safe and sound. But he knew there wasn't to be any turning back. He had a responsibility. A duty. Emily needed him. To aid her. To console her. And most importantly, to protect her. He knew of his powers, and the dangers they posed...but he would just have to live with them, but be more cautious. _Mom said she knew about this, dad probably told her something, maybe she could..._ Lightning snapped about of his thoughts at the sound of a large slam, presumably from the service door they had entered through. Emily looked up also, but Lightning knew she was still too frightened to venture out and make sure they were alone. He slowly moved from her lap to the opening in the makeshift cave, and carefully looked out in all directions, seeing no sign of the henchmen's' presence. He looked back at Emily, looking even smaller in the corner, and motioned to the exit, giving the all clear.

Slowly, Emily crawled from her spot and peered out of the exit, once again, all clear. She heartily exhaled in relief, placed Mittens back in her pack, and stood, still warily looking around. Then they proceeded to head towards their own entry point. "Okay guys," she said after several moments of somewhat tense silence as they approached the door. "I guess...we're going to India."

She sighed heavily, Lightning could sense she was both nervous and uneasy about traveling to an unfamiliar and potentially harmful place alone. He whimpered softly. Emily smiled and tightly embraced her companion and friend once again. Then they carefully exited the warehouse. They saw no further sign of the minor police chase they had witnessed earlier. "Okay boy," she said calmly. "Let's go."

Lightning walked right by her side. "It's okay Emily, I'm here. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you."

* * *

In the San Francisco airport, one would think the sight of a nine year-old girl alone with a fully grown American white shepherd would be a potential attention drawer. Maybe so, if anyone had the slightest amount of time to notice. It seemed almost everyone was interacting with some sort of electronic, from phones to laptops, no one seemed to pay any mind at all to them. Both remained highly vigilant, Emily for airport security, Lightning for anyone who took remote interest in her. Emily had purchased with the help of a rather friendly young man, who appeared to be in his early thirties, had smooth, combed back blonde hair, and something of a casual business suit, if such a thing is possible, to whom she had told that she had been separated parents and asked if he would use her money to buy her ticket and hopefully find her parents. As kind as the man seemed, Lightning constantly eyed him, knowing he couldn't trust anyone, or shouldn't anyway. He became especially nervous when he had to go into his kennel, and be placed in the cargo hold. He gave Emily an unsure look of worry, she gave him a light kiss on the head, "It'll be okay, I'll be fine."

Regrettably, he went inside his less than roomy space, and Emily handed him over to a baggage handler. They kept their eyes fixed on each other as long as they could before he was moved to the loading bay. She felt a small tear enter her eye. She quickly wiped it away as she and the man proceeded to the security, where she was more nervous than ever. "See your parents anywhere kid?" the man inquired, just before the entrance to the terminal.

"Uh, well...no. Actually," she stuttered, frantically searching for an answer. "We, uh...agreed that if we were separated, we would meet just outside the gate."

The man raised an eyebrow, just as she feared he would. It was rather unlikely that parents would tell their nine year-old daughter to buy her own ticket, go to an airport terminal, through security alone. But he seemed to believe it all the same. Speaking of security. They were right in front of the main security check, and as she removed her shoes and handed Mittens's kennel to another security officer, Emily was sure that at least one of her items would trigger an alarm or be confiscated. She placed her pack and shoes onto the conveyer belt, as the man went through the scanner, once again, no one, other than the guard in front of her, paid any mind to her at all. _They probably think he's my dad._ This gave her some relief, the less attention she had, the better. On the guard's cue, she stepped inside the small circular chamber, heart pounding hard, to the point she thought it would break straight through her chest. The door slowly closed behind her, and the scanners began to revolve around her, and she was almost certain something would happen during procedure. But, after thirty suspenseful seconds, the door in front of her opened and she was gestured out. She looked over to see all of her items survived the scan, another sigh of relief followed. _Who knows how many more of these I'll get?_

Re-gathering her carry-on luggage, and Mittens, Emily followed the man to her gate. Both seeing it was already boarding, the man asked once again, "Do you see your parents now?"

"Yes," she responded immediately. "Thanks for everything, it was nice to meet you, bye."

Her reply came faster than she intended, giving away that she was extremely nervous. She only looked back at him once to smile and wave, he had an eyebrow raised once again, but was smiling. She couldn't worry about what he thought the situation at the moment. She remained focused on boarding the plane. A nine year-old girl boarding an advanced Boeing 747 with only a back pack and a cat in a pet carrier, even alone, seemed to appear surprisingly normal. Not even the woman who checked her ticket didn't even say anything. Both her and Mittens had to admit, their luck that day was astounding. But they also knew it never lasted, or so said her grandfather. She didn't ease back at all until she took her seat on the giant plane. She placed Mittens in the seat besides her. Anyone could clearly see the stress and worry on her mind. Even a cat. Emily ran her hands over her face and through her smooth, auburn hair, then turned to Mittens and said quietly, "Well girl, looks like we made it. I guess we're alright...for now."

Mittens smiled. For once since this all had started, Emily was not worried, not even for Lightning. She enjoyed flying, especially now, it served as a distraction. She didn't have to worry about India at the moment. She could relax. She could just sit back, listen to her iPod, and take her mind off of everything. They both knew, for now, there was nothing to be concerned about. They were safe.

"That's her alright," the man seated at the back of the plane said to his partner, who was seated next to him. "She's right up there, right where she should be."

They both could easily agree the girl made it far too easy. "We take her once she leaves the airport at India, right?" the younger agent inquired.

"No, if our guys are ready over there, all we have to do is make sure she takes the bait," the older agent replied, sitting back and placing his hat over his eyes as the plane took off. "We got the easy job kid. We have her to thank for that."

* * *

_A/N I must sincerely apologize for the poor frequency of these updates, I've had much to do, and I thank all who are still reading this for having this much patience with me. Also, small edits and corrections have been made to chapters Prolouge-6, leaving out words in sentences is a major pet peeve of mine._


	12. Chapter 11: New Delhi

_A/N I must sincerely apologize for the poor frequency of these updates, I've had much to do, and I thank all who are still reading this for having this much patience with me. Also, small edits and corrections have been made to chapters Prolouge-6, leaving out words in sentences is a major pet peeve of mine._

Chapter 11: New Delhi

The large and ever-bustling city of New Delhi was an ideal place for one to become hopelessly lost. Or be separated from a loved one. Neither Emily or Lightning were ready to take that chance. Lightning remained close to Emily's side, and Emily kept his leash length no further than that, with Mittens more crammed into her backpack than usual. They avoided the main crowds of the city, knowing they would be engulfed in the massive current of pedestrians in a matter of seconds, should they place even one foot in them, and stayed along the side areas of apartments and small businesses just parallel to the busy capital. Lightning constantly looked over the "suspicious" crowd, while Emily, though she desperately craved to take in the sights or stop at one of the many shops of the market, kept her gaze fixed on the buildings, searching for their target. Their "relaxing time" was over, she was as aware of it as Lightning, from the moment they left the airport, they would not find any place or time safe enough to relax. They were on the run again.

Emily looked down at how fiercely vigilant Lightning appeared. Calling his name once, he looked up at her, suddenly happy and calm, the almost-eight year-old dog appearing as a puppy again, seeing her face. But when he returned to his vigilant state, she couldn't help but wonder if these powers would prevent him from returning to the jaunty, playful puppy she knew. But there was no time to worry about that now, she was sure of that. Simply looking over the city streets, Emily knew the unprepared would have absolutely no idea whatsoever where to start. But she had studied the endless labyrinth of the city streets, marketplaces, and knew exactly where to start. The buildings the city guide labeled as "Miscellaneous use". It was almost too simple. Once they came to the first of the massive skyscrapers under this category, both of them was sure it was their intended target. _Black-suited guards and black vehicles lined up outside, lots of security,_ Emily thought to herself, first viewing it from an alleyway. _Yeah, that's it alright._ So much security, it was almost too obvious. Both of them thought so. _Why would they have so much that would give it away? That a nine year-old girl would recognize it..._

Both of them ducked into the alleyway when a large group of busy and rather noisy workers passed by, while large groups of loud commuters was not an unusual sight for a local, it was something that would immediately catch the attention of any non-native. There would be time to be suspicious about the organization's movements later. Emily was more than ready to find out a little more about Calico's intentions. Emily sat down in the narrow passage, placing her backpack in front of her, she carefully removed Mittens and rummaged through it to find anything that might help her infiltrate the walls of Calico's headquarters. But then she came across her oversized pair of binoculars. Returning her gaze upward, she saw that the building they were next to was about three-quarters of the height of Calico's H.Q., and had a fire escape, therefore, and easy way to the top. She snugly stowed Mittens back into her backpack, leaving her binoculars and grappling hook out, and turned back to Lightning. "Okay boy," she said, patting his head. "Let's get to work."

She took Lightning under her arm, and, double-checking to ensure no one was watching them, she placed to grappling hook in its launcher and fired it the onto the ladder at the bottom of the stairwell. Securing it to herself, she jumped and was hoisted onto the wall with surprising force, she giggled with delight like a toddler as she scaled the wall. Reaching the ladder, she allowed Lightning to climb up first. Once on the first landing, Lightning could hear Emily on the ladder exclaiming, still giddy from her short but exciting climb, "Okay, that was..._awesome!_ That was just way too..."

Suddenly, she screamed as the ladder buckled and began to drop towards to the pavement below. Emily clung tightly as it jerked to a halt, only a few meters above the ground, caught by a fraying safety cord. Lightning worriedly looked over the edge to his person dangling off of the unsecure ladder, and barked frantically, "I'm alright," she reassured him as she slowly began to climb upward again, after a few moments of heavy panting. "It's okay, I'm fine."

"No, you're _not!_" Lightning rebuked. "You could've been seriously hurt, or killed, and I...I..."

"It's okay Lightning!" Mittens called, muffled and half submerged in the contents of the backpack. "We're okay, everything's..."

"No, it's _NOT_ mom!" he snapped. "You and Emily could've been killed! And there wasn't anything I could've done! How am I supposed to protect her if I can't even..."

"_Lightning!_" Mittens snapped back, head fully out of the backpack. "Watch your tone, we weren't killed, we're fine. It was...an accident."

Emily finally reached the top and plopped down on the landing, still shaken, and shaking. Lightning whimpered as he came to her side and licked her, Emily giggled, "I'm okay, I'm alright boy," she smiled kissed the top of his head. "It's okay, I'm fine."

Lightning was still in his feeling of failure, "No, you could've..."

"Lightning," Mittens said to him again, calmly this time, crawling out of the backpack. "Look at me." Lightning reluctantly made eye contact. "Don't linger over this, okay? We're fine, it was just a little accident. Emily is fine, but she still needs you. You haven't failed, you are perfectly capable of looking after her. Remember what your dad said, you won't be able to do something right if you keep focusing on your mistakes. Do you hear me?"

Lightning nodded and managed a smile, although he wasn't sure if the memory of his father and his wisdom encouraged him, or his lies depressed him. But again, there was little time to wonder. Emily, almost quite literally, but gently, stuffed Mittens back into her bag, and the trio made their way up the worn and rusted fire escape.

* * *

Only completely out of breath, Emily reached the top of the worn down skyscraper, nearly two minutes behind Lightning. Lightning, who on the other hand, was eager to begin their spying. Emily nearly collapsed on the rooftop, dropping to her hands and knees, nearly wheezing and gasping for air. Lightning went to her side and nudged her slightly, almost to say, "Come on! We can't rest now, we have work to do."

Being able to read her dog's expressions and actions like the pages of a book, Emily smiled and nodded to her companion as she took a deep breath and slowly rose back to her feet, while her tired and aching body was begging for her to lay down and rest. But there was no time. There wouldn't be for a long while. Crouched on her ankles, Emily moved with surprising fluency and stealth along the rooftop as they approached the ledge, slowly peering over, all the windows appeared as nothing but a mirror to her, impossible to see into any one, at least with the naked eye... Emily peered down at her advanced binoculars, as eager as she was to use them, she wasn't entirely sure how. Lifting them up to her eyes, she cautiously pressed one of the controls and the lenses instantly zoomed in on the window they were fixed on. Emily raised an eyebrow and smiled as she momentarily fiddled with the zoom in and out. Then her fingers came to another button, realizing her mother had labeled controls for her, she selected it and the window she was focused on deteriorated and she saw into the room itself. "Awesome," she muttered after a couple moments of speechlessness.

With this new ability under her command, she scanned row upon row of levels of work and meeting rooms, gradually growing impatient with the rate she was gaining new information. Until...her binoculars came across a poorly lit room, with a tall man sitting at a large desk in the corner of the room, his face could not be seen, with three or four black-suited men in front of it. Business suits rather than the guards' outfit. Realizing they were speaking, Emily hastily pressed another button, activating a small radar dish, emerging near the left lens, and ejecting an earpiece into her hand. "...So we've confirmed they _do_ have a daughter," one of the men said as Emily placed the earpiece. "And she has an enhanced dog too?"

"It hasn't been confirmed yet," another man (who Emily recognized as the Commander, Bruce) in front of the table said. "That person running from the house could've been anyone. The dog, yes, we're pretty sure of that. But we don't know if..."

"_Pretty_ sure?" a much younger man noted, sounding very irked. "You've just been _sure_ of all of this, haven't you? Well I think it's time we started actually _knowing_ things, instead of just acting on these stupid little leads and events!"

"Alright kid," Bruce said, appearing irritated with the boy's naiveté. "For starters, I _know_ you're ass will get a good beating if you don't watch your _Goddamn trap_!"

"You think you're superior here? You think anything you've done has actually contributed to the plan!"

At that point, all the men were talking at once, both Bruce and the younger man being restrained from beating each other senseless. Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, "Typical boys." Her lack of progress was growing annoying.

"Enough," the man at the desk said calmly. "Enough." Emily guessed that either the man was extremely dangerous, or had a highly respected position of authority because his calm response silenced everyone in the room in a matter of seconds. "Bruce is right," he continued. "We know for certain there is a dog, but the fact that the professor has a granddaughter is still unconfirmed. But if there's a dog, we can safely assume that the dog has someone to protect. And that person is the key. Otherwise they wouldn't have enhanced their dog. And leads and events are just as good as knowing something son," he said to the younger man. "You'll learn that in time, along with your place."

The man swallowed hard and responded softly, "Yes...yes sir."

A bright light flashed on the left side of the tall man's desk, which appeared to be an entire digital console. The man gently pressed it, "Yes?"

"We're all set up sir, and waiting on you and some others," a voice said. "So is the Doctor."

"Very well. On my way," he said, standing from his chair. "We'll continue this discussion later. Time for the standard meeting."

All of the men quietly exited the room, moving deeper into the building. The door automatically slid shut behind them. Emily sighed as she slowly lowered the binoculars and removed the earpiece, the only information she had received was that Calico knew Lightning was guarding the key component for world domination. Lightning gave her a worried look, sensing she felt hopeless with her operation. _Don't give up yet._

But she wasn't giving up. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She turned her gaze to him, placed her hand on Lightning's back, gently stroking it, and said, "Well boy," she sighed again. "We'll need to work a little harder at eavesdropping."


	13. Chapter 12: Uncertain Future

Chapter 12: Uncertain Future

"Everyone is present sir," the man said to the dark figure on a holographic screen at the head of the oval-shaped table. The figure merely lifted his hand to begin the meeting.

"Glad you all could make it," the large man whose face was covered by a shadow of the poorly lit room. "Now then, I trust you all have heard, we have a new enemy. Another enhanced dog, who is, supposedly, one of the offspring of Forrester's daughter's mutt. And while it is still unconfirmed that the professor has a granddaughter," scattered, disgruntled whispers filled the room.

"Silence," Bruce ordered.

"...we do know that if there's a dog, it has someone to protect. And obviously someone vulnerable. Our troops found multiple boxes with a note or two about what was in them back at the house, they left a lot for this person to use." With that he flicked one of the notes onto the cluttered table. Emily gasped sharply. In her rush to escape the house, she hadn't even gathered all of the notes her parents left her! Or cleaned up the boxes. She nearly pounded her fist on the bottom of the ventilation shaft. "So at least we have something to do in the meantime."

"What about the professor and his family?" another male voice asked.

Bruce spoke first, "They're still being securely held at H. Q., we were planning on interrogating them, but..."

"But they already avoided that with all they've left us," a younger voice chimed. "Heck, they probably left all that _so_ we could go after their granddaughter or whoever it is, and wouldn't torture them."

A small amount of laughter filled the room. "I know," the large man said again, nearly sounding over confident. "We almost should be suspicious. Abandoning their daughter for us to find and leaving all those boxes. Not to mention letting the dog stay to show his moves, not only demonstrating that there is a key person they're trying to protect, but how much protection their person actually needs."

Most of the men and woman of the room had smug grins on their faces. "We'll be able to capture them without any problem," Bruce added. "We know everything we need to. We'll reach out goal without any bumps along the way."

"Provided we can get to them of course," the younger man noted.

Bruce only stared at him for a moment. "By the looks of it, the person is already lost. Probably a kid too. It will be like drawing a dog in with a bone, Most likely literally."

"Not to mention we know everything they've been up to," the large man said again. "The dog and the kid that is." Some shot him a look of confusion. "I have my sources," he said flatly.

"Maybe this is why people say cats are smarter than dogs," one of the other men said, creating another wave of laughter in the room. Lightning emitted a low growl, only Emily didn't think to silence him. She was stunned at the conversation.

"So," one of the women said. "This will be easy. We have everything we need and we'll be set?"

Before anyone could answer, the figure on the screen finally spoke. "Nothing is truly easy my dear." Silence took over the room. "There is reason to be suspicious, to an extent. I knew Marcus for many years. He would have something larger in mind, and would not make these sort of mistakes." Silence controlled the room for an additional ten seconds. "All the same, there is little concern. Soon that key person will be in our possession. There is little opposition to worry about. Everything is proceeding as planned. Victory is far from being at hand, but we have to power to get to point B."

"Yes sir," the large, shrouded man at the table replied. "Keep doing your jobs everyone, we'll worry about the details."

Emily was overcome with disbelief. She couldn't stand to hear any more and slowly moved out of the overhead ventilation shaft, Lightning close behind her. She increased her movement through the vents, not caring how much creaking she was causing, all she wanted was to get out of the building, get out of the area, get as far away from all of that as she could. She still couldn't believe what she had heard. Finally, she came to the open maintenance area where she found the vent shafts. As Lightning exited the shaft, he saw Emily sit on the floor next to her backpack, wrapping her arms around her legs, and resting her chin on her knees. Instinctively, Lightning came right to her side. She only gave him a glance. She almost wanted to deny what she had heard, or at least forget it. Her parents had lied to her and kept it all away until the right time. The time that was right for Calico Industries. They had given away so much. There was almost no point in running and hiding anymore. _Should I just give up? Is there any point in resisting this? If they already know everything mom had planned? Is _this _what mom had planned?_ She didn't want to believe it. She only wished her mother was there to explain everything like always. She just wanted to know what all was happening. If this was all intentional, or the slip-up that would doom them. She thought she knew the situation. She just wanted to know what the future had in store. But there was no telling what could happen next. There was just too much to worry about. Which side had the upper hand? How much did her parents unknowingly give to Calico? How long would it be before they exploited this knowledge? Emily felt nothing but uncertainty. Uncertainty and confusion. As if it were repeatedly punching her in the face. Nothing that lay ahead was clear. Lightning knew it. Along with the fact that there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was place his head under her arm. Emily just sat in the corner. All her thoughts rattling around in her head. Screaming at her like a psychopath who had just murdered his entire family.

Finally, a tear emerged from her eye. Followed by many others. Confusion. Fear. Defeat. Uncertainty. All had made it through and were slicing away at her. She sat, there in the corner of the maintenance room, right in the center of Calico Industries, crying. Similar to a small child who had just lost her favorite toy. She wrapped her arms around her companion, all she could do was cry. Long for her family and normal lifestyle. For no danger, no fear. Nothing but the safety and comfort of her home. But this was no longer an option. It never would be again. She sobbed further into Lightning. She just wanted her family to be safe. For him to be safe. But she didn't know anything of what was to come. Nothing in the future was clear. Nothing was certain. And there was nothing that could change it.

For all they knew, all could already be lost.


	14. Chapter 13: Chasing Trouble

Chapter 13: Chasing Trouble

The constant sounds of New Delhi's hustle and bustle returned in an instant as Emily and Lightning exited the building, hitting them head on. But it made little of a difference to her; she held her head low and slowly walked out of the alleyway back towards the city streets. Her back ached from the heavy, bulging backpack around her shoulders, her legs were sore from all the walking and crawling they had done, her stomach rumbled from her lack of recent food, and above all other pain, her mind was deep in a slump of confusion and depression. She had no idea what could possibly occur next, or what she could do.

Her feeling of defeat grew larger by the second. She hadn't the slightest comprehension of what more she could do to stop Calico's terror, or even rescue her family. Now, any form of planning or confidence for the future was replaced by fear and doubt in her mind. She had no possible way of knowing what to do next. It seemed the only option remaining was to obey her mother and remain with her grandparents where she would be safe. But yet she pondered if it was what she should do, if it was what her mother truly had planned. But what did she have planned? Was all this part of it? Or had it already collapsed? And most of all, what was she to do now? All this only strengthened her confusion, and her feeling of being powerless.

Lightning looked somberly up at her, only wishing there was something he could do to ease her struggle and solve the situation. But he knew, aside from his alterations, he had no more power than she did. Though, he reminded himself, his job was to keep her safe. And thus far, he had done that much. But he was slowly discerning that it was a secondary priority. The first, was to save her family and stop Calico. They both knew it. Even as it was slowly looking impossible. Looking over to Mittens, his frail-looking mother uncomfortably sitting in the backpack's main pocket, he could only wonder how much of this she knew. Of course, how could she know about it? She wasn't with Penny and Bolt at the time before. But she must have known something about what they were doing or what they had to do. He felt uncertain about asking her, considering how little his parents had told him already. _But...can she know anything that could help?_ Only time would tell. Slowly making their way back up the street, Lightning looked for ways to lift Emily's spirits somehow. He could try to help her enjoy the sights while she could, or perhaps find somewhere to divert her attention from the situation. Lightning then noticed a flock of pigeons ahead, and, already feeling better himself, ran ahead straight on into the bunch, sending the startled birds flying in all directions as he playfully attempted to catch one. Once he was finished having fun himself, he looked back to see if his person shared this brief moment of levity. But she had turned away, looking down the street. As he stepped closer, he saw her gaze was directed towards a black car with Calico's emblem on it, driving out of the facility. Lightning immediately wondered if she was considering going after it and continuing her dangerous quest. By only looking up at her, his question was answered. He could see by the glint of determination in her eyes; she wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.

Emily sat down on the ground next to her companion and leaned against the nearby building, softly stroking his head, and he took a step closer to her, slightly wagging his tail, sensing his person was both exhausted and still uncertain. It didn't matter at the moment, if they were to find out more of Calico and how to save her parents, they would have to press on. Their own needs would have to wait. Emily looked back at the black vehicle as it began to drive down the street, "Come on boy," she said finally. "May as well figure more of this out."

Mittens smiled at both of them. She wasn't giving up. _She can't. She won't. Got too much of her mother in her._ With that, Emily arose and ran down the sidewalk following the vehicle, her canine close behind her.

* * *

Emily was amazed at her own ability to swerve through the crowded sidewalks of the busy city on her motorized scooter, only narrowly missing side stands and other small vehicles. Lightning was faring only a small amount better, finding it difficult to maintain a speed to keep up with her. But they still kept enough pace to keep up with the cat eye-emblemized Sudan just ahead of them. Whether or not the driver of the car had seen them seemed very much near their lower worries at the moment.

Keeping her focus mainly on the vehicle and her unpredictably changing path to follow it, Emily did not see where exactly in the city the car was headed. As their amount of obstacles gradually declined, both of them suddenly became more aware of their surroundings; a larger look around revealed they had followed into a more industrial area of the city. Emily looked up momentarily to see much smaller buildings than before, many of them with smoke pluming from the stacks on top and large, shattered and boarded windows. Despite the buildings' smaller size by comparison to the rest of the city, Emily still felt a sense of diminutiveness below the looming skyline.

A snap out of her brief sight-seeing showed her that the Sudan had slowed to a near-crawl along the worn street, almost appearing as if they were searching. Emily quickly veered her scooter into the nearest alleyway out of fear they had been spotted. Folding it up and storing it once more, Emily cautiously looked back out of the alley and saw, to her relief, they had only stopped to drop off one of their men. A relatively tall, average-sized man stepped out onto the sidewalk and began to slowly rotate himself around, surveying the area like a space probe that had landed on distant planet. But beyond his dark sunglasses and steel expression, there was nothing particularly intimidating about the man. He stood there for another minute as the Sudan drove away, continuing his surveillance to see if anyone was nearby. Emily remained crouched behind the dumpster at the end of the alley with Lightning, contemplating their next action. It was gradually becoming more and more obvious they would have to catch him and interrogate him for more information of her parents', and more importantly, Calico's whereabouts. But it wasn't how they would capture him that was worrying her as much as it was that they would perform it at all. Already then, the concept of a nine year-old girl and her genetically enhanced dog single-handedly defeating a violent mass corporation and their power-obsessed and somewhat maniacal leader seemed a bit overwhelming. But now, they would have to attack and subdue an unarmed business man in a dark alleyway.

Emily shook the side-thoughts from her head and decided it would be best to focus on what they had to do. _All we have to do is catch him by surprise, hold him down, have Lightning scare him a bit and ask him a few questions._ She immediately knew it would be far from that simple; there was always an additional piece of the future that they never could predict until the moment arrived. Her uncertainty had returned once more, and she would have to overcome it again. Lightning knew her plan, and didn't have much of any confidence himself. But they both also knew they would have to attempt it, if they were ever to hope of having progress. Peering back out from their place, she no longer saw the man anywhere, sending a spark of fear through her bones; whether it was a fear of missing their opportunity, or not knowing where he was, she wasn't certain. Emily slowly crept out onto the sidewalk just in time to see the man turn the corner out of sight. "Come on, let's get going," she said to both her companions and herself as she broke into an immediate, reluctant jog after him.

Her stomach felt as if it was attempting to tie itself into yet another knot as her pace quickened. However they were to carry out their stunt, all three of them knew the outcome would be far from good.


	15. Chapter 14: Objectives

Chapter 14: Objectives

A pang of growing franticness usually accompanied the thought that the right opportunity had been missed with each block they passed as their pursuit of a suited man continued through the dank streets of the lower city. Emily soon found herself sprinting down the sidewalks after the man who, presumably, had information about Calico's plot that could help them. Though, as usual, there was a hint of doubt among their plan. Several hints. First, there was the chance that the man would refuse to turn over any information to them, which, with Lightning's current state, could result in his serious injury or even death. Second, their attempted apprehension could completely backfire and Emily could end up being the one who was captured. Or it could turn out the man had nothing to do with Calico and would be terrified out of his mind at being mugged in a dark alleyway by a genetically enhanced canine. Neither of them were certain which possibility was the worst-case scenario, but that only made the task seem more daunting.

Yet, to them, the concept of not taking any action at all seemed like the poorer option. Running up to another corner, a bullet of sweat made its way down Emily's face as she cautiously peered out to the sidewalk perpendicular to theirs; they were still on the man's trail, and they had caught up to him. Emily gently shushed Lightning as he produced another deep growl. This also raised the concern: What if Lightning went too far? What if he would allow himself to let go of restraint and kill him? The thought resurfaced in her head as soon as she tried to dismiss it. But there was little time left to reconsider, it was time they focused on a single task at hand. After yet another block, it was becoming inevitable that the man would reach his destination soon and their plan would have to go into effect either immediately or never. Emily used the lower part of her shirt to wipe off the beads of sweat that lined her face as a result of the afternoon heat and began to feel an accumulation of stress over their current situation. What they would do with the information, what they would do with the man, where they would go from there. All of those matters were pushed out of her mind by the single objective they had in front of them, blocking anything else that lay in the future.

Thoughts were once again set aside when the man took a strange turn into a small side way off to his right. Both Emily and Lightning felt a sudden skip in their heart rate as their single opportunity presented itself, so elegantly yet suddenly. Without any further thinking, they both dashed forward for the thin concrete crevasse between buildings, giving little concern to the complaints of other pedestrians whom they narrowly glided past. Upon reaching this small alleyway, Emily's mind was still a blank on their plan for their "attack". That was the problem. She didn't even have a plan. She was blindly charging towards a suspicious-looking man and had no idea how she was going to get any information from him, or even apprehend him. And the concept of allowing Lightning to handle it was still too frightful. However, all planning fell flat when she peered down the narrow passageway to see he had vanished. _Well...no. He's here somewhere._ He couldn't have simply _vanished_. But where else could he have gone? The alley showed no means of exit until the opposite end, and he couldn't have possibly gotten that far. Even if he had sprinted. Emily took a few steps into the alley to investigate, graciously accepting the first chance to step out of the blistering India sun, but Lightning quickly ran in front and halted her. Emily read his actions and expressions instantly, as usual: this was some form of trap.

_Some form_ of trap. That much was clear to them. The unclear matter was how it was to be sprung. Neither of them had any particular interest in seeing for themselves, but the man they were hunting was still at large, a man whom they could not afford to lose. And that was when it dawned upon both of them. They weren't following the man to apprehend him, he was hunting them! Emily received the sudden impulse to turn around and exit the area as fast as she could. "Come on boy! Let's go," she said, beginning to breathe rapidly out of her sudden panic.

Having allowed herself to wander further into the alley than she meant to, she turned to sprint out and nearly ran into the bumper of the black Sedan parked at the entrance. She could see in the reflection of the dimmed windshield that the overall color of her face had gone from a heated maroon to pale. They had been lured into a trap. The men in the Sedan realized they were being followed, which was why they allowed one of them to exit and walk to an alleyway where they would have her cornered. The man didn't have a destination, he was looking for an ideal location to catch her! She tried to get her legs to run, but they remained solid in place out of fear and alarm. Though the men in the Sedan did not yet seem to be making any effort to catch her, but, of course, she knew too well if she began running they could easily stop her. But it was the only option her mind could come to, and she immediately, without any word to Lightning, began running as fast as her weary legs would carry her. As expected, the Sedan roared to life and sped down the alley after her, the sound of its engine growing closer to her at a staggering rate. Emily found her current action was futile, but there was no alternative. She was trapped from the moment they began following the man. She had thrown herself directly into Calico's hands, and she had no way out. _Unless...Lightning could..._ It occurred to her, looking back at Lightning who ran beside her and looked to her for her next command. He had survived an impact of that scale before. But she couldn't possibly bring herself to intentionally...

Emily suddenly lost her footing as she ran over a discarded bottle and skidded on her hands and knees to a halt. She fell on her side, clutching her heavily bruised limbs and weakly looked back to see the car driving at her at full throttle. And Lightning standing in the middle of its path. She stifled a scream and covered her face with her aching arms as she heard the crunch of the impact. She wasn't certain if she wanted to uncover her eyes at the result this time, she could keep her eyes shut for as long as she could, laying there, bruised and tired in an alleyway of the underside of New Delhi. But of course, she had to continue with her objectives. Her costly, flawed objectives to stop a madman. She slowly opened her eyes and removed her arms from her face, only to hear a louder crash, and hastily recovered her face as if it were something that would hurt her. Like hearing a clash of thunder when she was younger. Cautiously uncovering her eyes, she carefully lifted herself again to sit on the cold pavement and survey the area. She saw Lightning sitting opposite of her, alive and unharmed, with nothing else in view. The car was gone. For some reason, Emily didn't ponder this and instead pulled her backpack in front of her to check Mittens. She cautiously removed the frail cat from it and looked her over; she was overheated and dazed, but unscathed. Emily released a sigh of relief and embraced her cat. She had been so inconsiderate with her in the past day alone. Being so occupied with tracking anything to do with Calico, she had given no thought to the sixteen-year-old cat who was uncomfortably stuffed in her backpack in an unforgiving heat. "I'm so sorry, girl," Emily whispered to her, gently stroking her.

Mittens knew what she had already gone through, and managed a purr as she nuzzled under Emily's chin in her way of communicating, "It's okay. I still love you." Emily smiled and kissed her head; this was one of the moments where anything else was momentarily set aside, where she felt her family's love, where she felt home. She lifted her head back to Lightning, who was now standing next to her, slightly wagging his tail. But then, something behind her caught his eye. Emily turned her sight in the opposite direction to see where the car landed a few meters off from them.

Where the car had _landed_. The car had hit Lightning, or he had hit the car, with such force that it flew directly over her and landed on its roof mere meters away. The car had _flown over_ her. This did not cease to repeat itself to her. _If Lightning had been dazed when a car first hit him, how could he be fine after _he_ hit a car?_ At full throttle nonetheless. Whatever the explanation, she now had the men she was looking for cornered. Now it was time for the fun part: Questioning. Emily placed Mittens down near her backpack, slowly stood, despite her now burning legs, and limped over to the damaged Sedan. Uncertain where to start, she knelt down next to the driver's side window and knocked on the cracked glass. She was also unsure what to expect for an answer, until the window slowly rolled down, using the fractured amount of remaining electricity it contained, revealing two men in the front seats, the driver appearing to be no older than thirty, while the other man in the front seat appeared to be, in what Emily could make out in the dim light, an older man in his fifties or so. And she was unable to make out the face of the other one in the rear seat, all three of them with their heads to the ceiling, only being held in place by their seatbelts. "Well, what do you want?" the driver asked, sounding surprisingly impatient as if he had somewhere else to be.

Emily stammered for a moment, she didn't exactly have time to plan her twenty questions. She hardly thought she would even make it this far. "Um," she uttered, rapidly searching the recesses of her brain for a question as if she were speaking to a celebrity who had little time for fans. "Where..." Where. There's a start. "Where's...Calico?"

A rather stupid question. Not because it didn't matter to her, it was the most important clue to finding her parents she could get, but that she should have figured these men wouldn't simply give away the location of their leader, and most likely their main base of operations, to the one person they were tasked to find to achieve world domination. "Heh, forget it, kid. We're not talking," he replied bluntly, as she had expected.

What she had to do now, or rather what Lightning had to do, was brutally obvious. And Emily didn't like it. But there was no way she could possibly get them to talk herself. Though she had been frequently told before by her parents and friends that she had an amazing talent with words to debate and negotiate, she had a feeling her skills in a classroom discussion about the environment wouldn't properly apply here. But before she would allow Lightning to take over, she could attempt to intimidate them. "Tell me where he is," she stated, doing her best to sound and look threatening. "Now."

The driver and the other men in the car simply laughed at this; they weren't terribly intimidated by a nine-year-old girl whom they had recently nearly captured. Emily felt their tactic was working: her anger was growing. "Tell me now, or else!" she yelled.

This only increased their laughter, Emily clenched her fists. She didn't find the idea of her trying to save her parents all that humorous. "Okay," the driver said after finally stopping his laughter. "Alright, that's enough. Wilson, if you would."

A thick arm suddenly came around Emily's throat and yanked her to her feet. She only managed to yell, "Lightning!"

Lightning's gaze darted back to the car as he saw the men were attempting to exit the overthrown vehicle and advance on her. He quickly ran straight at it and rammed it away again, sending it sailing into another car parked across the street at the end of the alley, partially imploded. He turned back to Emily, who still struggled with the man they had followed there and somehow reappeared. Lightning carefully aimed and launched a jump straight into the man's head, knocking him into the wall. Emily looked back at him as he fell onto the ground, and Lightning prepared to strike him again. "Heel!" she screamed horrified at a repeat of another deadly attack.

Lightning quickly restrained himself and stayed in place, surprising to Emily, as she never once had to give him that command before. Emily stood and walked over to him as he sat against the side of the building, gasping for breath. She looked over to where the Sedan was, further away with its roof pushed in. She couldn't tell whether or not any of the men survived. Returning to Wilson, by whom they had been lured there, she questioned again, sounding less intimidating and more startled, "Where is Calico?"

Wilson looked up at her and only grinned and shook his head. Both Emily and Lightning sighed; for their efforts, they were making an appalling lack of progress.


	16. Chapter 15: Calico's Reach

Chapter 15: Calico's Reach

Emily paced up and down the alley in front of Wilson, whom Lightning still had backed against the wall, glaring menacingly at him. Her mind worked furiously to find a way to convince, or force, Wilson to tell them something about Calico and his whereabouts. Anything that would help them. But, again, it would take a lot more than her "sweet talk" to make this man reveal vital information about his secretive and powerful organization. And its power-mad-happy leader. The other available option she had was to use Lightning to get him to talk, but she didn't exactly want him dead, and she was especially frightened by Lightning losing control again and brutally maiming him. Despite their situation, she had begun trying to prevent Lightning from using his powers as much as possible; a futile attempt to keep him relatively normal. She knew too well that Lightning had not yet learned restraint, it appeared fresh in her mind every time she looked back at the upside-down black sedan that he had crushed into another car on the opposite street, the men in which still showed no signs of life.

Returning her gaze to Wilson, who only stared up at her with a blank expression, Emily decided on a compromise of alternatives. She stood in front of him and questioned once more, "Where is Calico?"

The man merely shook his head again. Lightning took his stare off him to look up at his owner in question. The same repeated question that was currently gaining them no progress. He hoped she had something in mind for this to work. Emily did as well. She resumed pacing back and forth as she continued to think of some way to reveal Wilson's secrets. But as the minutes of "holding" him passed, no other options came to her. It was now unshakably clear that the only way to get this man to tell her _any_ information about Calico...was through Lightning. The tendency to push that concept out of her mind and look for an alternative had vanished. It was now the only way they could hope to move on. Emily involuntarily shuttered at this: she didn't want to tempt another chance for Lightning to use his power.

But perhaps she wouldn't have to.

Intimidation was the idea that she had since they started, threatening to order Lightning to launch a vicious attack. This was still an unsettling idea due to the fact the slightest misinterpretation of a command on Lightning's part could actually _cause_ a vicious attack, but it was the only one that remained open to her. Getting her fearsome shivers under control, she stood before Wilson again and said in the most daunting voice she could muster, "Tell me where he and my parents are, _now_."

Unlike she had expected, Wilson didn't do anything this time other than stare up at her. Perhaps he was in disbelief that she had been this persistent with the same question, or maybe, at this point, he simply refused to respond to anything anymore. Emily folded her arms. _Okay, act calm. You have control over this._ She casually looked over at Lightning who looked back at her, awaiting a command. Before she gave him an eye signal, she paused. _Wait. Maybe we should start smaller._ She moved her gaze upward to where the damaged sedan lay. She returned to Wilson and motioned her head in that direction. "See that? See what happened there?" Wilson did not take his stare off of Emily, but she could see he knew what it was. "Well..." Just then, Emily almost allowed her mind to panic at the loss of words. "That...my dog did that." _Okay, obvious much. Now say why._ "That's what happened...to the guys who wouldn't answer that question. And it's what's going to happen to your boss when _he_ doesn't cooperate. I hope you don't make the same mistake."

Now, Wilson did slightly turn his head over to the site, and Emily felt a brief glint of pride at her statement. He stared at the wreckage a moment, then shifted his gaze back to Emily, who had now managed to fix a stern glare on him. Lightning looked attentively up at her, still awaiting her next command. She briefly returned a get-ready-glance to him before speaking again, "So, are you going to tell me where my parents are, or not?" Wilson sat motionless. Emily folded her arms and tapped her fingers against them impatiently, another drop of sweat rolled down her face; though they were out of the sun, the heat still broiled against her skin. "Yes or no? I won't wait all day. Neither will he." She motioned to Lightning who stood ready in an attack pose.

They both could see now the hint of fear in his expression as he attempted to keep his appearance calm. Emily thought he was about to reveal his knowledge of Calico and she would finally be a step closer to locating her mother and father without harming anyone, and waited for his response for the next few seconds. Then, for the next minute. Within another minute of silence, it was clear he would not yet speak to her, and she had foolishly raised her hopes again. Wilson's expression cooled, he was beginning to believe Emily was bluffing, and it was something she couldn't allow. Fear and panic suddenly soared through her heart, making it skip a beat. If Wilson didn't comply, all their work to get this far was about to unravel, landing them back at their starting point. She quickly spun to Lightning, "Lightning..." she begin in a loud tone, with which Lightning prepared himself. She hesitated a moment longer, and then jabbed an arm in Wilson's direction. The dog slightly tilted his head, remaining in his attack posture. Emily waved her arm again, as if she were throwing an imaginary rock as Wilson, and repeated this over and over to the pant of panting for breath. "Lightning...just..." she sputtered, continually swinging her arm at the man in this strange manner.

Lightning had begun to somewhat interpret this action, a sign to attack, but he still remained in his place waiting for a clearer command for this. Emily threw her arm at Wilson's direction one more time, but her companion still gave her another confused expression. Finally, she realized he did not understand her, and now, her stressed and overheated mind told her, she would have to handle it herself. At that moment, Wilson shifted in his place, appearing to attempt to stand. Emily, without thinking, suddenly swung a partial fist straight at him, hitting him in his left cheek. Lightning nearly jumped at this as the man fell against the wall again, yelling out in what Lightning assumed to be surprise rather than pain.

Wilson put a hand to his barely sore cheek and looked back up at Emily in astonishment, and she delivered another punch, again merely phasing off his cheek. He continued to stare up, a cold smile slowly forming across his lips. Emily's anger rose and, this time, slightly lowered herself to his eye line and hit him squarely in the nose, knocking his head back against the brick. Now, they did hear a slight shout of pain. He put a hand to his slightly throbbing nose to feel the small stream of blood trickling out. Breathing heavily now, allowing the rage running through her to take herself over, she threw another punch to his face, which resulted in a series of punches, one after another as she hit him repeatedly, each hit barely scratching his face. After the first punch that Wilson used a hand to shield himself from, Emily grabbed his head by its thick layer of hair and forced him to look at her. "_Where are they?_" she roared into his ear, tears now fully rolling down her cheeks.

Lightning only stood and watched in shock at his owner's sudden brutal aggression. He haplessly looked to Mittens, who shared his startled expression sitting next to the back pack. He tried to find some way to communicate to her to stop and think. But found no way other than to bark at her. Wilson still remained silent; other than his now mildly bruised face, he appeared to be as calm as he had been. Emily ignored her canine's alerts and stared at Wilson, slowly releasing her grip on his head and took a step back. What had she done? She had walked directly into a trap, forced Lightning to, most likely, gravely injure the men of Calico who had trapped her, and now repeatedly battered an unarmed man. Not only had this caused her to carry out this fit of rage, but she had lost focus, and more importantly, control.

She knew she fell into a trap minutes before, but now, did she fall into a greater trap? Was this what Calico was trying to do to her? What he had instructed his men to do? So that she would become so frustrated and confused, and lose any sense of anything else, making her an easy target? Whether it was what Calico intended or not, it happened to her. And it only hindered their progress. She looked back at Lightning, who she now realized was trying to stop all this, and she only ignored him. All she could give to him was an apologetic look and was unable to tell if his expression forgave her. It could have been he did not entirely wish to forgive her at the moment, but for the first time, Emily was unable to read what her friend was thinking. She felt some difficulty in it ever since he received his new abilities. Turning back to Wilson, who remained as he was, she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Just then, he grabbed her arm, stood and tried to pin her to the ground. Springing immediately into the air, Lightning pounced on him and pinned him to the ground, standing on his chest and growling deeply.

Emily shouted another command to stop and ran over next to them, she could fully see Wilson's fear now. She knelt next to him and unconsciously ran a hand over Lightning's back. "Just...tell me," she whispered, her voice now pleading.

Wilson looked back at Lightning for a long moment, then sighed. "Okay," he finally said.

He attempted to sit up, but Lightning kept his back on the pavement. He sighed again as he rest his head back on the ground. Every few moments, he would open his mouth to speak, only to close it a second later in indecision. One last glance at Lightning convinced him, "Kochi," he muttered almost indistinctly.

"What?" Emily asked. Wilson passed another moment of an uncertain silence. "What did you say?"

Wilson whispered something else barely audible. "Kochi. Kochi, Japan," he stated, this time resoundingly clear, and undoubtedly regretful. "That's the last I heard of Calico's location and his latest stronghold."

Finally, another bit of information. A small bit, but it was good enough for them. Emily slightly looked down and pondered, leaving another pause in the warm air. _Kochi?_ She had studied the country of Japan before, and remembered many of the locations on the map. "Kochi," she repeated out loud. "That's...on an island isn't it? Near the coast?"

Wilson nodded, "A little ways southeast of Hiroshima. I don't...know for sure if he's still there or not. He's been moving around to a lot of different facilities lately."

"What have he and his workers been up to at these facilities?"

Wilson allowed another pause to hang in the air, but this time, Emily could tell, it wasn't hesitation, it was attempting to remember. "He's uh..." He thought harder. "He's been—well, he's been putting Calico industries plants around the world, part of his new plan. Secretly putting them near places wealthy with natural resources."

"To feed his company and army," Emily added.

He nodded again, "Right. And it's not just taking a few oil drills here and there, it sounds like he's basically draining these spots of their resources. And it's not just oil and metal, mind you, it's also weapons."

"Natural weapons?" Emily asked, partially tilting her head.

"No, no. This is just a recent whisper going around, but he's had his agents stealing advanced forms of weaponry. From government warehouses, no less. And there's been no way to trace it back to us. Most officials don't even know that Calico is anything more than a small shipping business name."

She ran this through to herself again: Calico was taking weapons and resources and staying quiet about it. And more importantly, to her, she had his location. Which almost certainly meant her parents' location.

Though she could have easily received more information from him, that much would have to do. She questioned only somewhat further about Calico's weapons, and went back to pack up her backpack, this time, more comfortably situating Mittens. It would only be a matter of time before Calico's men would investigate their disappearance, inevitably causing another encounter like their previous one. She swung the pack around her shoulders once again, and walked back to Lightning, who still had Wilson firmly pinned to the ground. "Okay, thanks for your help," she said reluctantly but honestly. "Come on, boy."

Lightning gave one more glare at him, and then jumped off his chest, trotting beside his person out of the alley. Wilson quickly got to his knees and looked to her. "W-wait!" he called out. "What about me? You're just leaving me here? If Calico finds out that I helped—"

Emily continued walking and only half turned her head back. "He won't, no one will."

"Yes, he will!" Wilson rebutted. "He _will_ figure out it was me who gave you the information. He'll...he'll kill me..."

Now, Emily stopped and turned to face him. "Then run. Run away from him. Run away from all this. You'll be safe." She briefly flashed back to her mother's message giving her the same advice. "Just go."

Wilson still appeared distressed by it. His voice skipped, "He...he'll find me again."

"Not if you hide well enough. And if you can't, you can tell him one of your friends in that car told me all that."

He looked at her with a mix of expressions, barely able to conjure up any words. "It...that doesn't seem too...likely."

Emily sighed and looked down for a moment at one of the shattered side mirrors that had flown off the sedan. "Take your pick," she responded finally.

And with that, she turned and walked out of the alleyway, Lightning by her side. As anticipated, it had not gone as planned, but the results were satisfactory. Even if they weren't relieving.


	17. Chapter 16: Further Objectives

Chapter 16: Further Objectives

Talon and Clint walked down the sidewalk at a steady pace, despite their corporate-casual attire, keeping quite cool in the afternoon heat. They both had decided not to stop by Calico's nearby office building after leaving the airport and, instead, continued to track Emily. On this pursuit, Talon did not have the slightest intention of checking in with the boss every time they arrived somewhere. Much to the protest of his superiors. _You don't_, Talon thought, _effectively follow someone you're supposed to track if you keep stopping to check in with the employer and let your subjects get ahead of you._ The objections and counters of the officers still rang through his head, but they phased off of him. He knew how to do his job well, that was why Calico hired him personally, and he intended on doing it his way. Entirely his way: fulfilling Calico's goal, and his own.

"You do know where she is?" Clint inquired beside him, keeping his pace.

Talon simply ignored him and continued down the city sidewalk. He knew where he was going. He studied the entire city from border to border immediately after their job had been assigned. He would do his job right, with or without his partner's many doubts. Clint gave him a look of question, but didn't seem to be inclined to ask him again. Whether he knew better than to question Talon's place, or to simply ignore futility, he knew, despite his lack of experience, when to keep his mouth closed. It was more than could be said for most of Calico's operatives.

Operatives, Talon thought, was a strong word. "Henchmen" was better fitting, not for their work, but how they performed it; because of their inexperience. Calico had done heavy recruiting in the past months for more tools to fulfill his twisted bidding. Though some of his loyal, original minions remained, mostly those higher in the ranks, the majority of his current army was composed of mercenaries, bitter former soldiers from across the globe, or simple thugs who wanted their share of world domination. Despite inexperience with Calico's industry, at least, some of them actually knew how to do their jobs, knew how to handle the kind of equipment Calico possessed and was stealing, and knew how to obey Calico. Of course, that part was incredibly simple, there was only one true and safe way to obey Calico: Without question.

That group aside, the others were mere children who _wanted_ to be mercenaries. And Talon had developed a resounding annoyance for them. Nevertheless, he cared little about Calico's revolution and the pawns he laid out on his chessboard, all that was important to him was his job. The job he had in front of him, the one that was so unlike all the others before. Unlike the ones in his golden days, before he met Calico…

Talon made a sharp turn onto the next side street leading back towards the city and Clint nearly tripped attempting to follow him. He still gave his partner looks of flat-out confusion, though in decreasing frequency, unsure whether or not to dismiss the concept that they were totally lost. He knew of the extensive research he had done on the area, which caused the concept to float off, but looking at the strange and unfamiliar surroundings kept it at bay. Yet, he remained reluctantly withdrawn. After several more blocks, by which time they had passed the first minor skyscrapers of the city, Clint was about to speak another careful query when Talon finally spoke. "The girl will be fleeing the city about now. Even she should know they can't linger this long," he said coolly. "They'd have to anyway, but especially with the recent developments."

Clint ran what he had heard through his conscience once more, focusing hard on each detail. "Calico's not going to be happy with him for that," Clint ventured after a handful of footsteps on the sidewalk. "After all, it brings the girl closer to her folks."

"Wilson did his job right," Talon replied without adjusting his view. "He told her exactly what she's supposed to know."

"So, things are on track then."

"Wouldn't know, to be honest," Talon stated. "Which is for the best, as I don't really care about the one-way game Calico's playing."

"Just how we do the job?" Clint asked.

"I told you you'd catch on," the older man kept his pace steady as they passed a bustling market to their right. "Calico pretty much has ideas for domination wrapped up in a neat little line. Some wouldn't believe it, but our job is simply to make sure those dominos fall in the right order and in the right way."

Clint hesitated. "So…we're on our way to make sure she uses that information in the way—"

"That Calico wants her to, so she'll go into the trap he set for any opposition," he finished, a smirk growing across his face. "You might not be as much of a pain as I thought."

The other grimaced and faced forward again, walking through the increasingly crowded streets and walkways. Passing a large variety of small shops and emporiums and hearing the bustle of the city sounds including car motors, shouts of shopkeepers or drivers, and in part of the mere energy the walkway's movements contained. It could be remarkably easy for someone just below their authority to become distracted from their mandate in the center of it all. But Talon was no simple child operative. Clint, perhaps, but Talon had been in the game for too long.

Clint's doubt still tugged at him again. "How do we know where the girl is?"

"We don't," Talon stated immediately. "You may not. But I have a good idea where she'll go next," he finished before Clint's confusion got the better of him. "Just do what you do best." He finally made a turn into the parking garage on his right, keeping his remarkable pace. "Follow my lead."

* * *

By a passing glance, it would appear Emily and Lightning were casually walking along the city street. But their feelings were anything but calm. She worried, as she scanned over every person and car they passed, that she would look too guardedly alert of any threats to them, causing her to be dangerously recognizable from blocks away. Emily peered down at her dog, who was as ever-alert as she was. She wondered if they would be too recognizable in any other state; a tall, auburn-haired, nine year-old girl was not too much of an unusual sight, perhaps not even in India. But with an adult American white shepherd and an old cat sitting inside a bulky backpack, especially with the former being Calico's primary concern, it could be too dangerous for them to even approach a major city. And all their crowd scanning didn't help camouflage them. There were ways to blend in, however, including better concealing Lightning's identity. While she first found her own thought of hiding Lightning beside her befuddling, Emily had conceded that enough dirt on his fur might hide the power's signature bolt on his side, and perhaps disguise him altogether. Herself and Mittens were another story. Her cat being stowed in her backpack was no doubt part of the description given to Calico's men, and after what she had done with her before, she absolutely would not make any attempt to conceal her entirely in the pack. She would have to leave her cat in their temporary sleeping locations when they were searching for more on Calico industries. Emily shuddered at the concept of leaving Mittens alone in a strange location where Calico's men could more than effortlessly find her, but her conscience presented her with no alternative. It was probably better to leave her out of the line of fire anyway, Emily concluded. But she couldn't help but feel the uncertainty gnaw away at her again about it.

All the same, it was time she shoved it aside and focused on the tasks she had laid out for them. They would have to work harder at blending in, and they would have to start right away. Her goal with her newly found information still stood, but if they were to do it properly and, more appropriately, safely, then she had to get down-to-earth with her resources. It was something she felt she knew since they began, but had never truly grasped their situation until the recent incident. Emily wondered if Lightning had known it as soon or sooner than she did. Or if he even knew it at all, she couldn't tell. This scared her perhaps more than anything else; she found an increasing difficulty in interpreting her dog's expressions in the past days, almost to the point of being unreadable. Her friend was turning into someone she hardly knew anymore. And that was one of the things that was driving her to succeed. The sooner she could stop Calico, the sooner she could get her family back, and the sooner Lightning could return to his normal, ever playful and warm, loving state.

And then, her life could resume. With her loving parents, in her warm home, in her tight-knit town. In her once perfect life, only disturbed by Calico's plot. But it could all be undone, she coaxed herself, if she succeeded. _If_ she succeeded. More doubt to set aside.

Even with her small stature, Emily found exceptional challenge in maneuvering herself through the massive crowds, and it just wasn't fast enough. That, of course, was one of the things that was out of her control; she could only move as fast as the city permitted. In the midst of this, Emily decided to leave the diligence to Lightning and reflect on Wilson's information. Calico was last reported in his facility at Kochi, overseeing his quest for natural resource drainage to fuel his machine. It seemed unlikely at first that Calico would be moving her parents wherever he went, even if Emily was the only person searching for them. Given their significance to his plan, however, it would be logical for him to keep them directly at his feet. Either way, wherever Calico was, or had been, there was a good chance for her to advance further. But how could she advance? What would she do when she arrived there? _I'll figure it out when I get to that part_, Emily thought to herself. It was time she put her priorities in the right order, and she knew it.

Her concentration dissolved when Lightning growled abruptly, his stare locked directly ahead of them. Emily cautiously adjusted her view to where he was looking…to see two men standing side by side ahead of them, somehow remaining stationary against the steady flow of the crowd. Both men had something of a business look to them. The one on the right, a tall man, was equipped with a black suit coat and what appeared to be a bandolier around his torso. The second, slightly shorter than the first, had more of an outfit that she had seen on the guards that raided her house. Both of them returning her stare.

Not searching for her, not casually standing around, but looking directly at her. Her heartbeat came to a dead halt, which was what she had to prevent her feet from doing. Quickly, without appearing too alarmed, she carefully altered her direction down a small side street occupied with mostly pedestrians, cyclists and carts, all lined neatly against the buildings they were in between. She held Lightning's collar briefly as she directed him along their new route. She used her peripheral vision to watch the two men; she could still see them in the same direction, but couldn't tell if they had begun to follow her. She briefly considered breaking into a sprint the moment she escaped their view. But she found, returning her central line of sight to her path, that it would be difficult to run in such crammed conditions. A few steps later, she craned her neck to risk performing a visual sweep behind her: the men were out of sight. She performed a similar sweep of the area in front of her, and elevated her pace.

She shuffled, sidestepped and crouched her way past the unending obstacles which drew her attention from the fact that her speed had risen from a low jog to a near-full sprint. She didn't dare look back to see if the men were in pursuit as to ensure they didn't suspect her actions. As if, she thought to herself, her running hadn't caused that already. Though she did ensure both her companions were still with her as she neared the end of the side street, which led perpendicular to yet another bustling city street. It didn't take Emily more than one speedy search across the road to notice the three distinctive black sedans that were slowly proceeding along nearly directly across from her. Her heart didn't have time to skip another beat. She was forced to continue her sprint down the sidewalk along the street, with the sedans following alongside, their speed having increased. She looked to ensure Lightning was still at her side, which he was, keeping just ahead of her pace. They both knew they couldn't continue like this for very long, Calico's men were bound to catch up to her with minimal effort. It wouldn't be a problem for Lightning, with his abilities. Except that Lightning wasn't their target, it was her who needed to mobilize. She needed to increase her speed somehow. Maybe if she held onto Lightning's leash tight enough...No, how would she ever—

Just then, the image of one of her mother's notes flashed into her memory, soon followed by the image of her past experience of how she traveled the last leg to San Francisco. Emily carefully swung her backpack around in front of her while maintaining a fair jog; she would have time to dwell on her ignorance later.

Having ducked into another small side street, she had the motorized scooter unfolded and ready in no more than a quarter of a minute. With a rare of the small engine and a quick glance at her ever-ready dog, she came speeding out onto the road in front of the startled minions who had followed her. Their surprise didn't hinder them for more than a second, but it was a second she was able to use to her advantage. After a moment of both hard concentration and terror, they somehow successfully merged into the left-hand lanes of traffic and were speeding between them, putting as many vehicles between them and the sedans as possible.

Emily only hoped Lightning could keep pace with her, or rather, vice versa as she kept her vision locked on the narrow space between lanes in front of her. In this circumstance, she didn't dare to move at the scooter's full power, despite the multitude of vehicles surrounding her, including the three sedans which were in some way gaining on her. But this was only the start of their problems. Ahead, she saw the road forking slowly into a perpendicular street. Nodding her intentions to Lightning, she quickly swung her scooter across the front of a mid-sized car and only narrowly missed hitting the divider and colliding with a small truck. Looking back, she saw the sedans had lined up and also merged into the side lane. It suddenly occurred to her that she may not be able to outrun them, especially now they had an easier distance on her. Then, another image of the past clicked into her head. Looking down at the scooter's four control buttons on the handles, the headlight switch, the hoverboard ability, the startup button and the switch to launch the tug baton, and looked back at Lightning, who appeared to share her idea. As they merged into the perpendicular lane with surprising ease, the lead sedan was only one car behind them. Emily held her finger over the switch as she looked to Lightning one more time, and took a breath. "Lightning," she called with reasonable volume among the wind and speeding cars. "Zoom zoom!"

Lightning acknowledged the moment she uttered the words, racing ahead of her. With the sedan changing lanes to come up beside her, she pressed the control. The baton launched. Lightning caught it in the air with impressive agility and, quite literally, zoomed ahead of her in a blur. When the tug line ran out on her scooter, the snap of the spool was drowned out in a sudden rush of wind as the environment around her faded into a vision of speeding, mottled colors; they were off to the next target.


	18. Chapter 17: Tightening Grip

Chapter 17: Tightening grip

Straining to keep her grip on the handle bars while simultaneously working to keep her balance on the scooter as it sped past the lines of traffic, Emily had never felt such an unusual combination of exhilaration, fear and focus as Lightning pulled her scooter at the highest of speeds. She kept her eyes as open as she could to keep herself centered in the lane and to maintain control as Lightning weaved past the multitude of vehicles to keep ahead of the sedans. Emily dared to look over her shoulder to see none of the sedans behind them. She exhaled heavily in relief as she looked back ahead of her. The relief was all too short lived as a large shadow came over their path. Lightning briefly looked above to see; his expression hardened and he increased his speed. Emily gripped the handlebars firmly and performed a quick glance over her shoulder. Near-terrified by her glance, she looked up again and this time got a good look at the three military helicopters flying directly over them.

Emily ramped up the scooter's speed, even while Lightning served as her main acceleration and they slowly came out from under the shadow. But it lingered directly behind them. She frantically searched for a way off the open road, only finding a small exit to the left. Lightning saw it as soon as she did and veered himself and the scooter to the narrow opening past all of the speeding vehicles and ducking under a semi-truck. Emily's shoulder only briefly scraped against the road as she leaned to maneuver underneath the truck that blocked them from the exit, a maneuver that could have easily killed her had she lost any balance. But they maintained both balance and speed as they drove onto the road leading off the freeway. The helicopters were unable to follow so smoothly. They had to climb in altitude to avoid the overhead signs with one nearly colliding with a small building. The pair sped down the ramp leading them back to smaller streets between the skyscrapers, which provided them with convenient cover from the copters, also providing a feeling of security...until she saw the three sedans had followed her onto the ramp. She motioned to Lightning who pulled her narrowly past the intersection onto one of the streets running parallel to the elevated highway. With any luck, the cars would have to move through traffic before they could return to her trail. That much was correct, but the motorcycles sped directly past the interweaving traffic.

Emily huffed and looked back to Lightning, still running, apparently, without tire, pulling her scooter along by the baton. She mentally scanned through her resources quickly to find some way of escaping, and as she moved a tuft of hair sticking out from her helmet behind her ear, she felt a small bump on the side of her helmet. Further inspection revealed it was a button. She hastily pressed it and a thin glass eyepiece dropped down in front of her right eye.

_Awaiting Voice Command_

The green text scrolled across the center of the eyepiece fully legible. She looked at it only a second longer before returning her central line of sight to her path. Her gaze moved behind her to see the black-suited cyclists had minimized an alarming amount of distance between themselves and her. Turning back to the front, she stated out loud, "Show a map of my location."

The thought of whether it was asking too much of the device lasted no more than a second as a map of the surrounding area appeared across the monocle, with a small red dot moving along the street in the center. Fairly certain it was meant to represent herself, she looked over the map, searching the areas ahead of her for a route out of the city that could allow her to evade her pursuers. The sound of the motorbikes grew louder behind her. Lightning, meanwhile, searched for an alternative of his own. But he was far too occupied with towing Emily safely with collision. This in itself proved to be exigent. Much less keeping his person away from Calico's men. Emily then spoke again, "Find a path out of the city."

The monocle took in the new command and showed a fortunately partially elaborate, red line along several of the streets away from the city. Emily turned back once more; the cyclists were nearly within arm reach. She looked back to the route to lead them away and boldly steered Lightning towards the first turn. She only wished she had some way of showing him the map instead of hand motions that the cyclists could see just as clearly as he could. Yet, he seemed to be able to read her eye motions by an occasional glance. As their first turn neared, it almost seemed as if Lightning could see the map. He carefully veered at the corner and dashed like a white bullet down the street. Emily almost felt her heart would stop as she leaned for prevent a fishtail that would throw her off her scooter into a brick wall. This possibility sent an involuntary shutter through her, but she shook it off and held onto her focus. It simply wasn't the time for a worst-case-scenario.

She swerved to avoid yet another car as they sped along the street; uncertain if she could focus her attention anywhere other than ahead, she returned her line of sight to the monocle still held in front of her by the helmet. The next series of turns followed something of a zigzag pattern, slowly progressing out of the city. For a moment, Emily wondered if the device actually _knew_ she was being chased and was intentionally taking the most elaborate route. What was even more perplexing was that Lightning somehow seemed to be able to read her eye motions while he was tugging her along the ever-bustling city streets. But now was hardly the time to ponder, it was still the time to focus on staying alive. They rounded the next corner without impediment, but unfortunately, if her map was attempting to shake their pursuers, so far it was failing. The motorcycles followed in perfect formation, and coming closer at an alarming rate.

Emily prevented herself from panicking and returned her line of sight to the front in time to avoid a collision with yet another truck and prevent the whiplash of a sharp turn to send her into the opposing traffic lane. She had to work even harder to keep her panic under control when she realized the truck, now beside them, blocked their next turn; that control shattered when she saw Lightning had once again read her eye movements and ran _under_ the truck. She hardly had time to scream as her scooter leaned sideways at a steep angle to roll under the truck. By the time she opened her eyes, she found they were already on the next street and well ahead of their pursuers. Lightning threw a brief glance back at her which Emily saw as either to make sure she was all right, to check for another command or simply a smirk of cockiness. She couldn't tell which, but there was no denying the satisfaction, and moreover relief of both of them. Her path out of the city seemed to be smoothing out in terms of changes in direction. Before another ounce of relief could take root, she saw the cyclists were still gaining directly behind her. She scanned her route to see if any shortcuts existed, but concluded if there were the device would have marked them. But perhaps it was time she depended on her own instincts, as her mother always told her.

Had that reminder lingered any longer, she may have been captured or killed. She broke out in time to see the lead cyclist had caught up to her and was almost directly beside her, with a hand outstretched in her direction. She reflexively veered away and almost collided with the opposing traffic. Lightning obviously noticed this before she did and kept her balance steady and accelerated through the streams of traffic. A tight maneuver through speeding lanes only gave her some distance from the bikers before they were directly behind her again. Quickly scanning the path again, she tugged at her dog's tug cable to the right, indicating a turn. He showed a hint of skepticism before obeying, pulling her into the next turn; it proved to her Lightning could not read her thoughts, but at least he followed them. She looked back at the monocle to see they were traveling down a dead end street with only a one-lane alley leading out. The motorcycles had split up with only three of the bikes behind her as Emily learned via a quick head check. But a closer look at the map revealed where the other half was; they were coming down the alley and boxing her into the dead end!

She frantically looked for an alternative as they sped towards the end of the street, to no avail. Panic was allowed to overtake her as the inevitable approached. Lightning, on the other hand, already had a backup plan in mind. He increased his speed and lowered his head as the wall drew closer. Emily hardly knew what was going to occur until the debris narrowly passed her head and hit the bikers head on. Lightning turned her onto a larger road that led back onto her original path. Lightning threw her another glance, not in any way cocky, but concerned. "I know," Emily called to him, regaining herself. "Let's not do that again."

* * *

The freeway had less activity by the time Lightning and Emily rejoined it after they made it through the weaving route out of the city, during which their pursuers had entirely lost them. Emily breathed a heavy sigh of relief, seeing the large metropolis behind them already. Even more due to the lack of any cyclists or armed helicopters behind them. She looked back to Lightning, who had slowed their speed and seemed more relaxed—though still alert—than he was previously. She then began to wonder if he was beginning to tire from this. Yes, he was genetically enhanced, but did that give him unlimited energy? Would he ever require rest? Merely further information about her friend's new state that she was unaware of. Needless to say, it was _her_, if anyone, who needed rest. Now she became aware of how long they had been evading Calico's minions, looking to the west to see the sun beginning to descend into the horizon. Then the problem arose at where they would stay for the night. She studied the map which had been in front of her left eye the entire time. There were several smaller towns just a short while away from the city; she decided on the nearest one that had motel-like buildings, though her gut-instinct urged her to continue to one farther away from the city to be safe, but her tired state overcame it. Flipping the monocle back into her helmet, she began studying the road ahead, searching for her exit. But as they neared it, Emily and Lightning both saw something large, flying over the roads in the distance. They didn't require a second look. The copter appeared to be scanning the road ways of the area, watching to see who went in and out. Lightning gave Emily another concerned look, to which she returned only a grim expression. They would have to use an alternate approach to reach their haven for the night.

No. Not a haven. They were far from any safety, and they both had a feeling they would be for some time.


	19. Chapter 18: Searching for Answers

Chapter 18: Searching for Answers

An eerie thunder resonated through the inner workings of Calico's base as a majority of the complex powered down for the night to conserve what little energy it could acquire at a given time. The search for resources must not have been going as quickly or as smoothly as Calico had originally thought, given the frequency of these mandatory blackouts. _Even the most skillfully crafted master plans have their flaws_, Mark thought to himself. Not that this setback would impede Calico's goal―that was up to Emily and Lightning. He set his half-finished bowl of barely edible and possibly expired rations aside as he went back to sit on his cot, which narrowly passed for a bed. Exhaling a heavy sigh, he simply sat and thought; he didn't feel as exhausted or defeated as he thought he would have. Even his concern wasn't greater than his wonder at how they could succeed. He had faith in Emily, it was the plan he and Penny had set in motion that he couldn't help but obsess about in his mind. How could they be certain Emily would be able to get as far as they needed? Perhaps a better question would be how far did she actually need to get?

Mark had run himself through their plot repeatedly in their first two weeks of captivity: Evacuate the building of Mark's science research center and clear all information there, clear or hide any evidence of Emily or Lightning's existence, equip Emily with the necessities she would need to evade Calico long enough, including Lightning, and allow himself, Penny and Adam to be captured in order to avoid any sort of search after Emily. At that point, the plan had two possible paths: either Emily would obey her mother and remain in hiding until she could reach her grandparents on Adam's side, with no mad hunt for the only way Calico could succeed, eventually bringing his operation to a standstill, or Emily would begin searching for her parents and a way to stop Calico herself. Mark truly preferred the former, but from what they had heard the guards report, Emily and Lightning had indeed been discovered and were on the run, as Penny was two decades ago. Now, the other, more complicated path was to be taken. Now they had to wait until Emily would gain some sort of an edge over Calico, at which point—

Mark's thought process was interrupted when he heard a soft creak as Penny stood from her and Adam's cot and slowly approached him. "Thought you were asleep," he said, giving her somewhat of a smile.

She sat down on the cot beside him, silent, but a clear level of melancholy on her face. Not that Mark couldn't automatically sense it. He put his arm around her shoulder, and the moment he did, Penny sank into his side and began to cry softly. Mark sighed and tightened his embrace, and after a long moment of breathing sobs, she said shakily, "Daddy...did..." She took another deep breath, "am I doing the right thing? I mean..."

Mark rubbed her upper arm, "I know, honey. But you've done the best you can."

"Have I?" she responded, resting her head on his shoulder. "Is this really what's best for her? Sending her out on her own hardly knowing what's happening to her family ..." Her voice broke off as she stifled another sob. "We've thrown her into a world of danger. Danger and fear, something she never did anything to deserve ... I should have stayed with her."

"You know what would happen. She would be in even greater danger with Calico looking for you," Mark said. "We just didn't have enough time to prepare. By the time we learned of Calico's resurgence, we wouldn't have made it if we tried to leave the town."

Penny shook her head, "We should have at least tried to. It would have been better than just leaving her alone to fend for herself, hardly knowing why she had to escape from her only home!" She lowered her voice, keeping Adam in mind. "... she's just a little girl."

"So were you," Mark replied, half-grinning. "And I felt the same way when you were on your own, but you pulled through. You made it, and so can Emily."

Penny looked up at him, not returning the grin. "I never wanted her to be as scared as I was then. I wanted her to have a normal life."

"I know. She's also just as strong as you are; she'll make it." He wiped away a tear before it could roll down her cheek. "She has Lightning."

She finally managed a smile, "I know. Her best friend. The best family member she could have with her."

Penny almost managed a thoughtful chuckle, but her smile soon faded, her mind still overflowing with worry. Mark held her tightly in his arm. Emily would be fine, but it was out of their control now. The best thing to do would be to not worry about it.

Something that was, Mark knew, impossible for a parent.

* * *

The final car had returned to the building, and yet, it was only then, thirty minutes after, that the search had fully ended for the night. For the first time, Clint was actually able to look out onto the glowing lights of the city without thought of anything regarding Calico. He inhaled deeply which was, what he considered to be, the first real breath he had taken in hours. "We never seem to get a simple job, do we?" Talon asked as he lit the cigar he was holding in his teeth.

Clint exhaled the breath and replied, "I thought this _was_ a simple job to us. Or are you saying it's not going to be as easy as we thought?"

"I didn't say that," Talon said, easing back in his chair and resting his feet on the railing of their balcony. "I said no job we get is all that simple. There's also no job too difficult for us, no job we can't handle."

Clint turned slightly toward him, "So, we can handle this job, we just don't entirely get what it's all about."

Talon nodded and gently blew a ring of smoke out into the night sky. "More or less. Easy isn't always simple."

The various concerns still floated on the edge of his thoughts, but Clint conceded to dismiss them for the night. Or until whenever Calico called upon them again.

The resonant sound of the city's energy filled the silence in the evening air, serving as a calming reminder that peace still existed in the world. Clint glanced over at his partner and couldn't help but wonder if his thoughts were also on the mission they'd been assigned. He wanted to think that the legendary Talon Foarge was able to relax for once, but there wasn't much else to think about. Perhaps that _was_ how he relaxed: simply by taking a step back to view his job as a whole, from point A to point B. Whatever his methods, they were probably far beyond Clint's own capabilities.

"Don't be so tense, kid," Talon said to him as he reached and pulled another chair beside his own. "Come on, take a load off."

Clint hesitated before he realized it was an unarguable request. He sat down and leaned back in the chair, once again taking in the sight and sounds of the city before them. Talon spoke again, "The girl will have left the city and found some hotel to stay in for the night by now. A run-down place if she's smart."

The other simply nodded, not knowing what more to say, other than the question of how many small havens like a motel there were in southern India. "Tomorrow she'll head somewhere with a database for anything she can get on Kochi," he continued. "Whether it be how much activity there is around there or just for a map."

"She'll be better off with the latter," Clint offered.

"Indeed she will be. When Calico was setting all this up, he covered his tracks well. She'll be lucky if she even finds anything on Calico Industries anywhere near Japan." He paused for a handful of moments. "Then, she'll probably be off to Kochi itself. Continuing on this wild quest her mother set up for her, with us right behind her."

The sound of the nighttime bustle of the city filled the silence again. The kid was going along the route they had established for her, all right. The route that would bring her directly to Calico's mercy. All they had to do was to keep her on that path. If they failed... "What do we do if she does something that strays her from that path?" Clint inquired.

"Path?" Talon asked, with only a small amount of confusion in his voice, actually turning his head to face him.

"I mean, what's our responsibility if she doesn't go where or do what she's supposed to?" he corrected himself.

Talon smirked, releasing a cloud of smoke from his mouth as he removed the cigar. "We go along with it and make it work. But don't worry about that until we get there, okay, kid?"

"Right." Clint did his best to hide the dissatisfaction in his voice at the answer.

"We just have to keep an eye on her. That's what we were hired for, and that's what Calico wants from us." Talon looked back out over the city, spinning the cigar in his fingers. "In the end, it'll work out. The girl will end up with the right people."

Clint could sense the many possible meanings his partner's words suggested. "Calico might not get to her?" he asked, hesitantly.

Talon grinned again, replacing the cigar between his teeth. "Calico may be our employer, but _I'm_ the boss of any job of ours."

* * *

The backpack was thrown onto the hotel bed with as much force as Emily could muster, with what little strength she had left. Doing likewise with herself required no effort at all. She groaned as she was finally able bring her body to a halt and rest, and had Lightning and Mittens not jumped up beside her, she probably would have fallen asleep within seconds. She turned her bloodshot but loving eyes on him and weakly reached out to scratch him behind the ear. Lightning allowed her, but he didn't acknowledge it. He simply stood next to her and surveyed the room, remaining in a ready stance. Emily stroked along his back, hoping he would accept the invitation to rest as well, but he stayed where he was, as he was.

Emily sighed and looked back up towards the ceiling as Mittens rested on the pillow near her head, letting all her thoughts float freely. There she was, in a distant, unfamiliar place, on the run from a man who had taken her family and her home from her and was busy building up an empire to dominate the planet. She only had knowledge of one of his secret installments and only a small hope that traveling there would give her some clue as to where her family was and how to save them. A distant hope, but a hope all the same.

But still, a distant one...

Even with Lightning, there was still a great possibility of being captured by going to Kochi. Which meant a great risk of Calico's plan for domination being accelerated substantially. Despite her importance to Calico, she felt so small and helpless in such a large world. There was nothing that could get her out of it other than continuing on her mission. Her _mission_. She never wanted to receive such a responsibility, nor did she want her best friend to be transformed into some sort of mutated creature whom she hardly knew. But none of this was her choice, and there was nothing she could change about that either. One day, she is playing with her best friend freely in their peaceful home. The next, her mother gives her a rushed message telling her to abandon everything she'd come to know and care for and live in hiding. Well, almost everything. But Lightning had changed with these events into a killer. A monster. She tried to shake such thoughts away and stay focused on the larger issues of the present. With little improvement, Emily sighed and let her eyes drift shut, thinking back to the summer evenings she used to end this way, falling onto her bed with Lightning at her side and reminiscing on the day's events. All that was now gone.

She looked back over beside her to see Lightning had laid down and curled up next to her. She smiled and put her arm over him, patting him gently. He was still her dog, no matter what abilities he had. He was still her friend, and he was still there for her. She was still on control of something. Something that could not be taken away.

Emily repositioned herself on her bed, keeping both her companions near her, and began to drift off. There was little they could do, she concluded, without the proper energy. Their apparent mission would wait until morning. Then, she thought and then dismissed as she fell asleep, they would have to keep pressing on to save their loved ones' lives. Whether they were prepared for it or not.


	20. Chapter 19: Courage from a Distance

Chapter 19: Courage from a Distance

Moving back and forth at a steady pace, Lightning trotted in front of the convenience shop Emily was in, his eyes in solid concentration halfway between directly ahead and towards the ground. Mittens couldn't tell if he was guarding the box-like building or just thinking. She considered either one to be somewhat unhealthy for him, given the amount of work they had been doing recently.

They had spent the past day and a half scouring local libraries and information centers in search of something about Kochi. Not just on Calico, but on the location itself: maps, neighboring cities and towns, shipping routes, even nearby rivers and lakes. _Something_ that might help them there. The best they could find was a map and some information on the city. Beyond that, there was no record of even the local businesses there. It was bad enough that there was little on Calico's operations, but the lack of information on the city in general is what frustrated Emily the most. They stopped at this store in hope of a break from their pursuits. Mittens was disappointed to see Lightning had not taken the opportunity. "Try to take it easy a bit," she said to him, after hesitating several times. He was fully grown, and she didn't want to continually hound him as though he was a reckless puppy. But...he was still as new to this responsibility as Bolt was. "Rest for now. It'll do you good."

"I don't need to rest," he replied, not stopping or looking at her. "I need to keep Emily safe."

It was the answer she had expected. "Everyone needs to rest," she said. "Even the heroes. Especially the ones under our circumstances."

Lightning stopped only briefly. "I'm not resting so Emily can right now," he stated, resuming his pace. "I'll rest when she's safe."

"She _is_ safe. She'll be all right even if—"

"She's never safe out here," Lightning cut in. "She'll only be safe when she's back home, and when this is over."

Mittens released a heavy sigh. "We don't know how far away that is, and we certainly don't know when the next opportunity for rest will come. We need to take advantage of any time we have. You need your energy for when she does need protecting."

He didn't answer, only continuing his rounds in front of the building. He didn't show it, but he knew there was no arguing his feline mother's logic. At least not while being on the losing end. Mittens only kept her worried stare on him as he paced. He was a basic "superdog," but that didn't mean he couldn't rest or even briefly relax. But perhaps that would come in time. He had a relatively new responsibility placed on him and he would grow accustomed to it in time.

A feeling of relief came over her when he finally stopped and sat beside her. He'd finally listened to her. Or he simply figured that he could guard the store in a stationary position. Either way, it didn't last long. A minute later, Emily emerged from the store with a bottle of water in one hand, a small book and a couple snack packs in the other. Her expression was still weary, but she still managed a smile towards her companions as she approached them. She dropped her backpack next to where she dropped herself down against the side of the building. She stowed what she had purchased into the backpack, except for one of the snacks, and rested her head on the cold, vertical concrete, surveying the cloudy sky above them. Turning her gaze downward, she looked over the nearly vacant street in front of them. On the other side, there wasn't much more than was on their own side; a few rundown buildings, seemingly abandoned, a darker shade of grey than the sky was. Looking to her right, she saw most of the same thing with a few old cars parked on the side. Turning to her left, there was little difference in scenery. Simple, grey emptiness. Only the occasional pedestrian or passing car broke the stillness of the small city's side streets. Emily didn't know for certain what the city was even named, but she knew it was far enough away from any of Calico's operations. At least for now.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees, sighing deeply. Her mother had never said this would be an easy task. Nor had she said how difficult it actually would be, but that was something she was quickly learning. Even after a full night's rest and a short break, she felt as drained as ever after nearly two days straight of searching and searching for something—beyond a map—that could help her when she reached Kochi. _If_ she reached Kochi...

No, it wouldn't do any good to become discouraged now. She had to keep her focus and her trust in her family. Aside from Lightning, it was roughly all she had left. Lifting her head, she looked to Lightning, who stood directly at her side, as always, ready to give her whatever comfort she needed. Mittens was doing the same. As she scratched both of them, her attention shifted to the charm bracelet that was strung around her wrist, the one her grandfather had given her. She studied it more closely, thinking back to the significance each charm held. The memories each one held. She turned her head away from Lightning, subtly wiping the tears that were forming on the edge of her eyes. He sensed her sadness anyway and nudged her slightly. She turned back and stared at both of them. They each didn't understand what was going on any more than she did, but they still were there for her, to protect and care for her whenever she required it. Even their intent stares said to her, "It's all right. You're not alone."

Emily looked back down at the unopened snack pack that she had placed in her lap. She put it in the smaller backpack pocket along with the others, having lost her appetite, and examined the other contents: the pocket book she had purchased, a simple location guide to Kochi; one other fairly small map; a notebook, containing the limited research she had done; her binoculars and her phone. If anything, the last two items would be all she needed. But the time to worry about such things had passed: soon they would be departing for Kochi. She sighed as she looked over the backpack's interior once more, hoping the additional items would not make it even more uncomfortable for Mittens when she traveled in it. In any event, they would have to begin preparing for their next journey. _As if we're not as prepared as we're going to be already._ She thought. Then again, all of the contents were what her mother, whereever she was, had provided to her. Everything that she needed—and every_one_ she needed—she already had when she left home.

"I'm ready if you are," Emily said to Lightning and Mittens, closing the pack. Both pets seemed to give sounds of acknowledgement. "Good. Me neither."

She laughed as Lightning licked her cheek reassuringly. She stood and heaved the backpack back around her shoulders, giving her pets and her bracelet another look. None of them had lost hope; their family was still together, in one form or another.

Stretching slightly, feeling a renewed surge of energy, she gave one last glance to each of her companions and began to walk down the street with them back to their hotel.

* * *

_The array of sounds from the hospital hallways were not enough to keep Penny from sleep. She actually heard the occasional phone ringing and passing carts as soothing white noise, helping her to relax. Not that resting was something a woman who had just given birth had a difficult time doing. _Not yet, at least._ Penny thought to herself. But that would be something to deal with as it came. Only this time, Adam would share the difficulty._

_Upon hearing a soft gurgle, Penny opened her eyes and lifted her head from her pillow to look down at the infant she was cradling in her arms. Her eyes were fully open and surveying the ceiling above them, moving from tile to tile, from one dimmed light to another. Then, her eyes rested on her mother, and she gave a slight toothless smile. Or it was simply an absent-minded relaxation of her jaw. Either way, she was beautiful._

_Penny smiled and stroked her daughter's head. "Hey, Emily," she whispered. "You're awake too, huh?"_

_Emily didn't answer, becoming preoccupied with the small remnants of her dinner that were scattered across the bib on her small chest. Penny stared at her in wonder; she held in her arms her newborn daughter. Her _daughter._ She ran the term through head repeatedly, and after the fifth time, it didn't sound any less astonishing._ _Emilia Lauren Hendrick: The life she and Adam had created. This was the life that they were responsible for and would care for as she grew into the person she would become, and this was where that life began._

_Penny's smile grew as Emily wrapped one of her own tiny hands around Penny's finger and squeezed, as if ensuring that there was still a lifeline there to sustain her. "I'm right here," she assured, giving her a small kiss on her head. Emily swallowed the last morsel of her smeared food and began to slowly drift off into sleep, seemingly comforted by this. "I'll always be here. You'll have me whenever you need me." And nothing would ever change that._

* * *

Penny opened her eyes, receiving the crushing realization of where she was, and the even larger realization that she had no knowledge of where her daughter was.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she stared up at the blank ceiling of their holding cell. Emily was so far away from her. Lost, constantly eluding people who sought to abduct her for reasons she didn't fully understand, and with no one to look after her beyond Lightning. She had no one to comfort her and tell her that it would all be all right. She was strong, yes, but that didn't mean she was ready to be secluded like this. That certainly didn't mean she _deserved_ to be forcefully separated from nearly everything she'd ever known and loved. Not at all. She was a wonderful, loving young girl who had been living a beautiful life. A life that had been ripped away from her just as it had from Penny.

Penny thought back to the days following Emily's birth—so long ago, yet so vivid in her memory—when she had made that now-broken promise to her. A few additional tears streamed out of Penny's eyes as her thoughts circulated around her isolated daughter. After all the years of caring, loving and protecting her, she had abandoned Emily at the time when she needed her most. _But she still has Lightning. Along with everything else that dad and I gave her. She isn't unequipped for this._ She attempted to comfort herself with the reminders of what she had provided to Emily. No, with what she had, Penny hadn't entirely abandoned her. She was just alone...

Sighing deeply, Penny shifted onto her side on her cot, briefly glancing at Adam, lying sound asleep next to her. Or at least he seemed to be. He was an amazing father, having done so much for both Penny and Emily. He had disliked their plan as much as she had, but he, reluctantly, agreed in its effectiveness. Rarely doubting his judgment, Penny took some further comfort in this. Emily would be fine for the time being, as long as Lightning was by her side. In that way, her family was with her as well.

Penny closed her eyes in a futile attempt to gain a few more hours of sleep. _I'm still with you, sweetheart. Just hold on._ She promised she would be there when Emily needed her. It was a promise she intended to keep.


	21. Chapter 20: Kochi

Chapter 20: Kochi

Talon was generally unimpressed by Kochi's cityscape, particularly the industrial side of it. He would have thought that Calico would choose a more thriving metropolis to set up a facility and drain resources from. Then again, it was more about the resources themselves than the actual city, he reminded himself. All the same, Kochi wasn't exactly a goldmine in terms of fuel, industry or even work. Not that it mattered to him. It was, in fact, quite irrelevant to his own job; he wasn't being paid to judge how his employer played with his toys. If anything, he did his best to not think about it and focus more on his prime objective. An objective who seemed to do everything she could to make his job easier. He would almost be suspicious if it were an older or more aware target.

He exhaled a plume of smoke from his cigar out onto his view of the city on the overcast day. The buildings, having little variation in size beyond the two main categories of skyscrapers and five-story complexes, were not as tightly compacted as they were in New Delhi, being a couple more meters apart from each other. It was a thriving city for the most part. Not nearly as much as Tokyo or New Delhi, but remaining successful to a measurable extent. The side of town Talon was on was the side that met with a vast forest, the hill he stood on being just short of the imaginary border separating woods from city. He gave the overview one more visual sweep, then turned back into the forest where Clint was waiting in the car. "Get some inspiration?" he called as Talon approached.

Talon didn't respond. For being relatively new to a difficult job, the kid sure was cocky. He hoped that it didn't have any repercussions on his abilities. Fortunately, so far, it hadn't. But that didn't mean he didn't bear keeping a close eye on. Especially with Calico in the state he was in.

The man wasn't exactly seething, but he was uneasy. Everything in his plan had gone well so far: the resources were flowing in his direction, his weapons were being prepared, and not a single government had even noticed his activities beyond shipping cargo. However, he was tense about it all. He never showed it during the meetings, but he was nervous about any sort of hitch in his plan, and there were several possibilities for those. The girl and her dog were one of them, but they weren't the only ones. Calico was on edge for fear that something in his plan might turn sour, such as government intervention or a failure to receive necessary supplies, and cause his corporation to halt entirely or even be dissolved. Whatever his current worry, one thing was certain: he wasn't as confident as he was when it was Penny and Bolt out there; he was nervous that his plan might not succeed.

This almost caused Talon to smirk. His high and mighty boss, Doctor Calico, was actually thinking there was a chance he might not win. This, of course, meant stricter orders for himself and Clint. Much of the "master plan" depended on their success, and Calico had little toleration for failure. Or so Talon had been told. Whatever the boss's mood, this wasn't the type of job to second-guess in. Talon didn't usually care what or who the targets were, his main concern was doing the job the right way and, often times, his way. Such was the case here.

He climbed into their Jeep, double-checking what lay in the backseat, making sure that Clint hadn't lost any of their equipment. He faced the front again and kept his eyes fixed ahead. "Head to the generator complex," he ordered.

"The generator complex?" Clint repeated, giving him a confused look. "I thought we were going to the base. Or the airport."

Talon didn't look at him. "Trust me. She'll do some looking around, and the complex will lead her to the base."

Clint drove the Jeep down the road, but continued to wear a wary expression as he tried to read the other's thoughts through occasional sideways glances. The kid would be confused a few times along the way, Talon thought, but he was smart enough to do as he said without question. "We're still going to give her a way into the base, right?" Clint asked, after a minute of silence.

He would do as he was told _almost_ without question. "Yes," Talon replied.

"And then we'll get her into the archive room where—"

"One thing at a time," Talon interrupted, crumpling his cigar in the ashtray beside him. "Get us to the generator complex. Then we'll go from there."

Clint very much preferred to plan far ahead, but he didn't voice it. Not to Talon. He continued to drive down the hillside road, running all possibilities of what Talon was thinking through his head. Nothing came up with an amount of certainty.

* * *

If Emily hadn't felt lost enough before, Kochi gave her a whole new definition of the term. She walked out of the airport as casually as she was able to appear, gently brushing and gliding past the numerous Japanese travelers, far too preoccupied with their own business to notice her, even when she occasionally collided with them. Their conversations were a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, not that Emily could decipher them from one another. She occasionally heard a sentence or two of English, from slightly or heavily accented to flat-out butchered. She held tightly to Lightning's leash, keeping to the length that he could only be at her side, unnecessary since he rarely allowed her to even leave his sight. They walked through a large open, cylindrical area with three levels of balconies encircling it leading upward to a domed skylight. Looking up, Emily could see numerous more travelers either looking down or passing by the overlook on each level, some of them browsing through the gift shops, others dining at tables while engrossed in their newspapers or tablets. Some of the ones looking around were either fascinated tourists or stern-looking security guards.

Fortunately, none of them in black suits and helmets. None of them were looking for her.

When she finally reached the doors leading out into the parking lot, she scanned the area visually to ensure there were none of Calico's men nearby, waiting for her. She had been on a constant lookout ever since she entered the airport in New Delhi. She trusted the information Wilson had provided, but she couldn't help but feel like she was _intended_ to trust it. He could have easily allowed himself to be captured so that Emily and Lightning could interrogate him. Probably contrary to what Calico's agents thought, she knew that this could be a trap. Then again, she kept reminding herself, she had no other leads to follow.

She would just have to spring the trap in a way that worked in her favor.

Finding a shuttle that traveled closest to the industrial side of the city, she sat in one of the benches near the back of the bus and held closely Mittens in her backpack to one side of her and Lightning to the other. Over the course of the ride, she reviewed in her head everything she had studied about Kochi while ensuring to not make eye contact with the other business and otherwise shady-looking passengers sitting further ahead of her. It was a short list, but still one worth keeping in mind. She was able to go over it about four times during the ride to Kochi's information center. The slow, uneasy ride past the city's few skyscrapers and bustling markets. Emily couldn't help but feel hyper vigilant. There _had_ to be some of Calico's patrols around, making sure there was no commotion or investigation of their activities here, if they weren't looking for her. The fact that there wasn't even an occasional black Sedan made her anxious. Lightning also felt uneasy; for once, a lack of people trying to hurt Emily was disturbing.

When they finally arrived at the Information center on the more remote part of town, Emily and Lightning quickly disembarked from the bus and ran as fast as they could away from it, ignoring the risk of how suspicious it appeared. They ran inside the two-story rental car garage next to the Information building and hid behind one of the parked vehicles, as if they were being pursued. Emily pulled the map out of her backpack and looked it over again. They had made it to the far end of the city, near the industrial facilities Wilson had mentioned were near Calico's base. They were situated on the line separating the city from a dense forest, which Emily had noticed as they came close to their stop. It was in that forest where Calico was building his power.

It was in that forest, she hoped, where her family was being held. "At least we're headed in the right direction," Emily said, folding the map into her backpack again.

Lightning gave an eager bark and began wagging his tail. She smiled and stroked his head, doing the same to Mittens as she reinserted the map into her backpack. "We're almost there," she told both of them. It certainly didn't feel like they were, but the closer they were to her parents, the closer to home she felt. That was something.

She heaved the backpack onto her shoulders once again and walked vigilantly out to the street with Lightning—

Both of them nearly dove back into the garage as a black-colored Jeep approached down the street in their direction. They quickly skidded to a halt back at their previous hiding place, Emily attempting to catch the breath she lost from her sharp gasp. So Calico did indeed have agents in the city, and they had followed them here. Emily silently reprimanded herself for having used such an obvious mode of transport to get there. Of course there hadn't been any patrols in the streets. Calico _knew_ where she would go. Lightning had realized this about the same time she did, giving a short, disgruntled growl. She patted his head reassuringly. There was no sense in being angry about the past, and there certainly wasn't any time for it.

She cautiously and slowly peered out from behind the rows of cars to see if the Jeep's occupants had noticed her. To her surprise and concern, it was nowhere to be found. She stood and stepped out from between the vans they hid behind. Lightning gave a warning growl, but Emily walked further towards the garage's exit, still looking down the narrow road for any sign of the Jeep. As she came to the opposite wall next to the door, she spotted the vehicle again, but it had not stopped. It was, in fact, a fair distance away from her, showing no signs of looking for her, or anyone. It was driving at a moderate, steady speed towards the industrial complexes. Towards one of Calico's complexes.

Once she was sure that it was a safe distance away, she whistled for Lightning and pulled her electronic scooter out of her backpack. She had it unfolded and powered up within fifteen seconds and while she checked that Mittens was comfortably situated as she strapped her helmet on, she made eye contact with Lightning for a long moment. Each smiled warmly at the other in an unspoken reassurance. _We're almost there. Almost home._

Of course, both of them knew there would be more ahead than simply rescuing her parents. The small nagging pang of wariness Kochi itself had given them was reminder enough of that. But their weary minds told them that the closer they were to their family, the better off they were.

So long as they weren't alongside them in captivity.

Emily nodded to Lightning, mounted her scooter and accelerated down the road after the Jeep after carefully checking to ensure there weren't any others nearby. Lightning, of course, ran at her side at a perfect pace with the scooter, keeping his eyes locked on the Jeep ahead. Whoever was driving and whatever their purpose was in that area, they would lead them towards their next step. Even if it was a step backwards.

* * *

To their mild surprise and great suspicion, Emily and Lightning had followed the Jeep not into the forest, but into the industrial district they had seen on the far side of the city. Though she had only seen it from a short distance as she approached the information center, Emily doubted that Calico would be able or willing to have any major facility in such a small and rather unremarkable area. Her initial notion was that the base was somewhere in the forest, remote and far away from the risk of a curious local seeing something they shouldn't. But the Jeep had driven into the mix of run-down buildings, the only other traffic of which were large semi-trucks and an occasional compact car.

Two thoughts had occurred to Emily and Lightning at this point: the car wasn't returning to its base and was simply patrolling, or it was leading them both away from the base and into a trap. If it was the latter, however, why perform it here? Emily had concluded that at least coming near the trap would be worth it if it meant finding her family, but she figured it would be where they were actually being held so as to bait her. She hadn't expected it to be in some low-performance yet bustling series of factories. Or perhaps it wasn't even a trap. Perhaps Wilson had given her legitimate information and they were on the right track for once.

It sounded stranger than anything she'd heard since this all began, but they had only one way of knowing for certain. And it was a way Lightning disliked immensely. The two things he took issue with the most were the fact that they were even in Kochi at all, and that they were following this Jeep that had conveniently showed itself upon their arrival in this district. Even more so that it was driving into the least probable location for a base. If they were approaching a trap, it seemed to be a poorly constructed one. Poorly constructed traps were something Lightning could handle, of course, but he still didn't want to intentionally walk himself and Emily directly into one.

But Emily was intent on gaining any form of progress towards finding her family. It was his job to protect her as she did so, whether he favored it or not. But he knew that didn't mean they had to intentionally walk into—

Emily abruptly brought the scooter to a halt as they came up to a gate outside one of the larger buildings. She powered her scooter down and crouched behind the left-hand pillar of the gate, peering over as she attempted to keep the Jeep in view while staying out of sight of the guard post next to the pillar. The vehicle had driven halfway through the circular drive—which looped around the sculpture of the company's logo, a green half square inside a larger blue half circle with an uppercase Q between them—and stopped in front of the double-doors of the box-like, two-story building between two three-story buildings that ran further back, connected by a neat series of wires. A young-looking man with brown hair, a medium build and a gray jacket stepped out from the driver's seat and walked through the doors. Emily couldn't tell if there was another person in the car from her vantage point, but as she peered out further from behind the pillar, she could see that the guard post was vacant and the gate had simply been left open. Apparently, the security force had decided that any threat worth worrying about would have a difficult enough time getting past the lobby.

Emily watched the parked Jeep a couple moments longer, then shifted her gaze to the sign that lay on the decorative arch over the gate. She saw the company logo with Japanese text underneath. Fortunately, an English translation was conveniently provided below it.

_Quantum Resources Inc._

A ploy, possibly. Something to cover up the real operations occurring here. But they had previously thought that this area was an incredibly unlikely location for Calico to have a base, backed by the fact that the power plant appeared as rundown as the surrounding buildings and there was minimal security. Which presented the question: Why had the Jeep stopped here? Emily felt a small amount of reassurance; maybe this was a place Calico didn't want her to go to. Somewhere where she could find information. If that was the case, however, why would he leave any forces nearby that would cause her and Lightning to find it?

Another question that would have to wait until later. The man reemerged from the building and climbed back into the driver's seat. Emily and Lightning ran through the gate and hid behind a row of shrubs that wrapped around the driveway as the Jeep drove through the gate again and disappeared as it turned onto the next street. Lightning looked back at the bulky structure, analyzing any possible entry points. The front door was out of the question, unless they wanted someone aware of their presence in any form. Looking down the side of the right-hand building, he noted no particular security measures of concern, but there _were_ several small exhaust ducts about every twenty meters. He turned back to Emily, who had followed his line of sight. It seemed to be a clichéd manner of entering. _Good thing we're not trying to impress anyone._ Lightning told himself, still not convinced.

Emily looked back down at him and nodded. "Still think it's a trap?" He seemed to consider this. Whether it was or not, it felt like they were supposed to be there. He motioned his head in the building's direction as a reply. Emily stood and took a deep breath, sharing the thought. "All right," she said. "Lead the way."


	22. Chapter 21: Springing the Trap

Chapter 21: Springing the Trap

The ventilation shaft was even dustier than Emily had expected. Apparently the building's staff gave as much thought to cleaning as it did to security. Roughly twenty meters in, she was surprised her excessive sneezing hadn't yet alerted anyone. Other than that, she and Lightning managed to move through the ducts quickly and quietly, despite the fact that neither of them knew where they were going or what they were looking for. Lightning's main path seemed to be intent on moving as straight as possible through the maze of air ducts throughout the building. Emily peered through each vent they passed, looking for anything they could use, but also to ensure they would reach the center or someplace worthwhile, rather than the opposite side of the building. Finally, after what felt like an hour, Emily spotted what appeared to be a control room through one of the grates. An empty control room.

She softly whistled to Lightning and nodded to the grate. Lightning approached it and melted the bolts holding it in place with a four laser blasts from his eyes. The first three of them focused, the fourth and final one spurting slightly, then fizzling out. It was perplexing to both of them, but Emily still managed to pull the grate off with the slightly burned bolt still in place. _Probably nothing to worry about. Probably._

She stuck her head through to double check that the room was empty, then lowered herself down, landing on her feet in the back right corner of the room with a soft thud. Lightning followed in behind her without a sound and they began visually scanning the room for anything that could clue them to what Calico was planning. It took them five minutes of careful searching, finding only a map of the industrial district on the wall and a few assorted notepads listing the plant's generator activity, before they were convinced that no one would be entering the room for a while.

Still alert, Emily placed her backpack next to her chair, allowing Mittens to get out and walk around, and sat at a large desk near the center of the room, in front of a large window overlooking the generators, and powered up the computer. Fortunately, she didn't require the password; the computer was on standby. With a small sigh of relief, she began searching through the numerous files and folders, looking for anything that might be linked to Calico. She began by putting the obvious words, "Calico, resources, base, weapons," into the search box. The former two only displayed shipping schedules and storage units with the latter two not showing anything. Emily returned to the results of her first search and scanned through them. The shipping schedules suggested nothing in particular: there were no details saying that they were in large quantities or were to be shipped to a hidden base. Of course not. If Calico was involved in this, he would handle his supplies in a way that wouldn't appear suspicious on a list such as this. At least, not suspicious at a glance.

She pulled up the arrival list for the previous week and scanned through the destination of each shipment. Most of them listed a nearby company or facility, but several of them had "Independent Location" in their destination column. Emily made a face. _Independent Location_. That had to seem somewhat chary even at a glance. She clicked on the name and a map appeared, pinpointing the location of the building the supplies went to, along with limited details on the building's layout and activities. She eagerly searched through the floor plans, most of them rooms saying "Research" and showing the level of activity that occurred inside. Two of the highest areas seemed to be a main control room on the top floor—overlooking a river that cut through the forest—and a library-type room that contained numerous data banks and, more recently, a number of hidden defenses. The room was labeled, "Archive."

It was an incredibly unusual amount of security, even for an information center, with stun guns and weapons caches built into the walls and balconies for guards to take up positions, in addition to the hidden doorways on each wall—

And then, it hit her. Kochi was a trap, and the Archive room was where it was to be sprung.

Lightning sensed her sudden alarm and stood on his hind legs with his front paws on the left armrest of her chair, nudging her arm with his nose. Mittens jumped up onto the desk and stood next to the keyboard with her usual I'm-here-to-help expression. She looked at them briefly, petting both of them with a reassurance she wasn't feeling. Trap or no trap, it was clear they would have to go there at some point. But they _did_ know of the trap before they arrived there, meaning they could also learn of a way out of it. Lightning growled warningly at the idea he knew she had. Now that they were aware of the trap, he definitely wasn't allowing her anywhere near the base. Emily looked at him again, releasing a heavy sigh. "I know," she whispered, stroking his head. "I don't like it either, but..." It took her a few moments to find the words. "I don't know what else to do. This may be what I need to find Mom, Dad and Grandpa back. We may be able to get the info we need and still make it out."

Lightning grunted in some form of agreement, clearly still not convinced. Emily didn't feel totally convinced herself. But they both had to admit, it was worth a shot.

She gave the layout a closer inspection, mentally listing the possible ways to escape the room if the normal exits became blocked. It was a short list, but one she could obtain primary and secondary escape routes from. Her primary route was a small fire escape hatch next to one of the computer consoles. It was covered by both a medium-sized floor tile and a long rug. _We need to be fast. Those'll take a few seconds to clear away. Maybe if we did them before we got on the databanks..._ _No. Then Calico's men would know that we're on to them_. And move in before they even got to the computers. Her time in the databanks would be limited as it was, she knew. She blew upward in both a sigh and to push a stray tuft of her hair out of her eyesight. "All right," she thought out loud, leaning on the tabletop on her elbows as she rubbed her eyes. "We'll find out where they are, and be in and out before they can even spring the trap."

Lightning growled in cautious agreement. Emily leaned back in the chair and looked at him again. "I know," she repeated. "Let's make it quick."

She attempted to print the layout, only to find the printer was off. Not feeling like remaining in the office a minute longer than she had to, she quickly memorized the layout and its exit points, powered off the computer, and picked up her backpack. She decided to allow Mittens to walk the way back; she hoisted both of her companions into the opened air vent, recovered it with the singed grate and crawled back towards the outside.

* * *

Though she kept it at a safe, moderate speed, her scooter's hover ability was steadier than Emily had anticipated as she maneuvered it past and between the trees of the overgrown forest Calico's base was situated in. She began to wish she had used it earlier, back when she was actually being pursued by her enemies rather than going straight to them. She shook off the thought and focused on her constantly shifting path, with Lightning keeping pace beside her. Her largest concern was getting out of the base even after they reached the fire escape hatch. What if they had security measures in place there as well? Of course, all security-related attention would be on the archive room where she was supposed to be, but that didn't mean they would be unable to move a squad of guards to another place in time to stop herself and Lightning from leaving. _We've got to move fast...but will that be fast enough?_

Lightning didn't hide his disapproval of it all very well. In fact, he seemed to be subtly hinting her that he didn't like it one bit, whether it was an occasional glance or a short growl as they got closer. Emily acknowledged him each time just by nodding. It wasn't the most brilliant strategy they had, but it seemed to be the only one that meant rapid progression toward saving their family, despite the risk. It was the only reason they were in Kochi to begin with. She slowed her speed as they neared a clearing and felt her heartbeat accelerate. As she cruised to a stop, Calico's base came into view amidst the foliage, alongside a steady flowing river. It was housed by a tall fence laced with barbed wire at the top and a look-out post at each of its five corners. The building itself matched the schematic brick for brick: it was a three-story building with three shorter, windowless garage-like structures flanking it. She found a maintenance doorway on the far left garage which she deemed suitable enough for entry, not that it mattered. Getting inside wouldn't be a problem. Getting out was the trick.

Taking another deep breath, she looked at Lightning again, acknowledged his look of concern and continued moving towards the base at a slower, still cautious speed. _We'll just be in and out. We know what they have planned, so there's nothing to worry about._

They had no trouble approaching and getting past the fence, despite nearly being spotted as Emily stowed her scooter in her backpack again. _Nearly. Not quite._ Emily reminded herself mentally: They had to spring the trap as they were leaving. Double checking that there were no patrols, they silently sprinted across the concrete in front of the garage up to the service door. It was locked, as Emily had expected, but as she was about to give Lightning a command to break it open, the handle suddenly turned and the door swung open. Lightning was already half way to the pile of crates off to the left side of the door when Emily turned and broke into a dead sprint for them. She jumped behind their cover, almost certain the men exiting had seen her. But after several tense seconds, their conversation suggested an unawareness to her presence. She peered over the edge and confirmed her suspicion; two guards led by an un-helmeted commander suited with partial body armor casually walked out, looking around the compound. _Just looking. Not looking for us_. Emily wasn't sure to take comfort or feel more uneasy from that. But again, it didn't matter.

Emily and Lightning slowly and carefully walked out from the crates and toward the door, reaching just before it clicked shut. Lightning stuck his head through first, making sure there weren't any more personnel within sight. The garage was almost completely empty. Only large pipes and a few helicopters were contained inside. He gave a curt bark as an "all clear" to Emily and led to a stairway on the far end that led up to a catwalk leading to a pair of doors emblemized with Calico Industries' logo. If anyone was in the building, they oddly didn't seem to notice a small girl and white dog walking into the main part of a secure facility. Or perhaps they chose not to notice. Emily shook the thoughts away. She needed to focus. It would help Lightning to relax a little about their plan and it would help her get to their goal much faster. The sooner they could be finished with this, she thought, the better.

The hallways leading to the archive room were almost completely empty, as they both expected them to be. An occasional and easily avoidable guard patrol were the only personnel they even saw on their way to the large metal door that had been left open. Convenient enough. As they hid behind the corner just ahead of the archive room entrance, it occurred to Emily that she might not even have enough time to access the archive's computer. Perhaps they would seal off all of the exits the moment she entered the room. She growled under her breath. Why had she even thought they would give her an opportunity to access that information to begin with? _To lull me into a sense of security? I mean, they were going to capture me anyway. What harm would it do?_ The answer didn't totally convince her, but, of course, it was too late. They wouldn't allow her to leave now. And she _did_ have an escape route...

She should have heeded Lightning's warnings.

She looked down at him, but instead of the expected "I told you so" look, he returned the glance with a "Ready when you are" stare.

"Here goes nothing," she whispered, nodding. _Or everything_.

The canine crept out from behind the corner, sticking to the right side of the hall, moving slowly towards the first of four guards standing on both ends, two on each side. He crouched into position to strike. Emily only saw him tackle the first guard from behind, sending him sailing into the one across from him, and then moving to take the other two guards, who barely had time to raise their rifles. She blinked once, and suddenly saw all four of the guards lying on the floor, unconscious. Lightning looked back to her, indicating the all clear. She quickly ran past the bodies sprawled across the floor and into the archive room. She came to a halt just short of the computer terminal and looked back at the door. No trap had been sprung yet. But the countdown had begun.

She quickly started up the terminal and began scrolling through the horizontally oriented and seemingly endless amount of files as Lightning stood directly behind her, constantly scanning the entire room. There was no apparent search box like the one she had used at Quantum Resources, so she took a guess and selected the "Strategy" file. A map with complex, intertwining shipping routes and details appeared. There were numerous routes leading into base locations, such as New Delhi and Kochi, but the largest amount coming from somewhere in Europe. She magnified the map, showing shipping routes to London as well as the Netherlands. The routes seemed to travel worldwide. Emily made a mental note of it and went back to the list of files. She felt her heartbeat accelerate, becoming frantic at finding no specific files that contained the whereabouts of her family. "Come on...give me something," she muttered to herself.

She almost glanced over a file that was titled, "Operation Priority." Her racing heart skipped a beat as she saw its contents: a detailed map and checklist displaying the final location of Calico's resources and weapons, showing one major staging area near London. All of the weapons were to be transferred there for "final regulation." That was where Penny and her family were. That was where they were headed. Emily noticed additional notes down the list, mentioning other directives such as data handling, agent positioning and their cargo. She double checked the last few of them, slightly puzzled. Agent positioning and cargo? What other units did Calico have out there other than—

Before she could retrieve further information on them, the screen suddenly went blank and all but one of the lights in the room went out. Emily quickly stood up and turned to Lightning. _Time to go._

Lightning had already begun looking for the hatch and was sniffing along the carpet that covered it. Emily hastily scanned across the room, looking for the data shelf the hatch was by. Her panic rose when she found there were two such shelves on both sides of the center of the room. Reminding herself of the multiple guards probably flocking towards her at that moment, she took a guess and began lifting away the carpet. To her relief, she had chosen the correct one. As she was lifting the hatch open, Mittens let out a sharp _hiss_, one that Emily had never heard from her before. It had to be because of the guards entering the room. Putting in all of her strength, she lifted the hatch open...

"Why hello, young Emily," a deep and nefarious voice pierced the air, sending an involuntary shiver up Emily's spine.

She spun around and located the only light still active in the room. Standing just before the beam was a tall, slender figure, hands clasped behind its back, standing straight. She couldn't make out any details, but his outline was enough to give her a chill. Who even was this? It wasn't important. He wasn't a friend of theirs. Emily turned back to the hatch, but Lightning was still facing the man, his entire body rigid in a defensive stance with a death glare on his face. "Lightning..." she said, warningly, knowing they had lingered in here for far too long as it was.

The man stayed where he was. "I wanted to congratulate you in person. Your efforts in evading me have been marvelous, worthy of commendation even within my own organization." He took a step forward, revealing an aged, bearded face with graying hair. He was wearing a gray suit with matching pants and black shoes. But what caught a majority of Emily's attention was his left eye, entirely hazy green with a narrow, black horizontal pupil. She stopped herself from thinking what could have caused it and looked back at the hatch again. "You've done extraordinarily well, considering your age. But now, I'm afraid that playtime is over. I have a schedule to keep you see."

Emily gave Lightning's collar a slight tug when she saw guards beginning to take up positions in the balconies above them—guards who had undoubtedly already observed their escape route—but he kept his eyes locked on the man, looking like he was ready to pound him into the wall. "Well...so do we," she said back to him, if not only for the sake of voicing her defiance.

The man chuckled. "Then you'll be in a hurry to get out of here then. Come with me and I'll have you back with your family in no time. I only need a couple of things from them and then you will be free to go." Emily knew exactly what those things were. He wasn't going to get them if she had any say in it, which she usually didn't. "Besides, don't you think you've worried dear old mom and dad long enough?"

She sneered at his devious smile. But she felt an unsettling realization come over her. Could this man be...

No. She couldn't afford to dwell on this now. They had to get out. Her parents were worried, but they had faith in her, and she wasn't about to let them down. "Lightning, _speak_!"

She had chosen the command at random from what remembered from the list Penny had given her. Lightning seemed to have been expecting it; he reared his head back, then threw it forward in an ear-shattering bark that seemed to cause the room to partially implode. Emily didn't watch to see the full effect nor did she have time to react to it, almost losing her footing, and jumped through the hatch. The fall was farther than she had expected. She landed on her feet, stumbling slightly, and looked back up at the hatch. Lightning somehow managed to close it and dropped down beside her along with a few pieces of debris. She looked him over, ensuring he wasn't injured in any way, then placed her backpack in front of her to do the same to Mittens. They were both unharmed.

Exhaling a breath of both relief and exhilaration, she gave them both a scratch on the head and stood up, replacing her backpack around her shoulders. They had evaded the trap. In a somewhat destructive manner, but they were still free.

"Okay," she said, still attempting to catch her breath, feeling as confident as ever. "Let's get moving." She began running down the dim service tunnel towards the opposite end. "See, boy? They can't catch us."

Lightning gave a bark of cautious enthusiasm as he ran alongside her. She could have sworn she saw him roll his eyes.


	23. Chapter 22: Rolling with the Punches

Chapter 22: Rolling with the Punches

Halfway through the winding and dark passageways of the emergency tunnels, Emily had to stop herself entirely and get her excitement under control. At this rate, she would run into a wall or, worse, straight into her pursuers' hands. Lightning trotted up to her as she skidded to a stop at a junction in the hall and took this moment to catch her breath as well as take in her surroundings. There was little to look at; lit only by an occasional overhead light, the hall was nothing more than a long service tunnel with pipes and wires lining the walls and ceiling. Though she had been running for no more than two minutes, she was surprised she hadn't seen anyone else, coming after her or not, neither behind or ahead of her. Lightning was grateful she wasn't going to press this luck. She looked at the splitting passage before her, mentally analyzing the map. It seemed her escape route was left at almost every turn. "Come on, boy." She motioned to him and started jogging down the hall again.

Lightning had been as surprised by the force of his...super bark as Emily was. He had seen the guards' reaction to the command prior to being flung into disintegrating ceilings and walls. A few of them even turned directly around and began running. They seemed to know of this power already...

Just another part of his family's past that had been hidden from him. Mittens hadn't spoken a word since they dropped down into this tunnel. If anything, she seemed eerily quiet. He granted her the fact that there was little to say at the moment, but he could still sense _something_ amiss about her. She had seen the "super bark" before, hadn't she? He decided to dismiss the matter until they were well away from the base.

After another several minutes of continuous running, Emily finally spotted the fire exit at the end of the hall. She seemed relieved as she quickened her pace, but Lightning knew they weren't safe yet. Not by a long shot. He had secretly hoped they would be, but as Emily pushed the door open, his defensive instincts kicked in before he even saw the ranks of soldiers and armored Humvees assembled just outside of the exit. He and Emily remained rooted in place for a moment as their minds shouted at them to get moving. Lightning began to think of a way to subdue the massive force until saw that Emily had already made a break away from the guards for the perimeter fence. Nearly every single soldier responded by running to intercept her.

_No! Wait!_ The thought was futile, he knew. He ran at the crowd of men at full speed, causing them to dive in multiple directions either in an attempt to avoid him or because of him. He ignored the cracks of bone from the bodies that kept ramming against his head as he cut through the ranks and ran towards one of the Humvees. The vehicle had already shifted to face him but barely had enough time to aim anything. He clamped his jaw on the front bumper and flung it into the human wall that was advancing toward Emily. Another group of men was sent into the air with more being crushed as the Humvee rolled to a stop, upside down and partially in flames. He turned to survey the rest of the force and was surprised to see that a majority of the soldiers were fleeing the facility. _Impressive army, Calico._ Lightning smirked inwardly.

He immediately turned his attention back on Emily. It took a few moments to spot her, but she was still running to the fence, a few remaining soldiers running after her. He broke into another sprint after her, greatly increasing his speed as one of them grabbed Emily's arm. "Let go of me, you asshole!" she shouted as she twisted his arm.

The man yelled in a mix of pain and annoyance as another attempted to seize her other arm. She grabbed the first man's rifle and swung it with all her might into the second one's helmet, then into the first one's legs. She was about to swing it again when a third guard grabbed her from behind, causing her to drop the rifle. She shouted again, kicking her legs franticly. She managed to send one kick squarely into the second man's abdomen as he attempted to grab her again. There were now only ten feet between Lightning and the guard that held Emily. He shifted his running to a gallop and launched directly at the guard, sinking his teeth into the back of his neck as he tackled him to the ground. Emily was almost knocked to her feet as well, only managing to remain upright by rolling over on the ground once. Lightning landed on his feet and launched the man into the trunk of a tree.

He was unsure of what surprised him more: the guards' rapid retreat or Emily's defensive moves. He decided to opt for the former, since it _was_ what had kept her safe. She certainly needed it...after he separated himself from her to attack the main force, a decision that would have cost Emily her life had she not performed her defensive techniques...

A sudden wave of guilt overcame Lightning. He hadn't protected her arguably when she needed it most. Was this how he had been protecting her for this entire journey? Was this all he was really capable of? Had it all been mere luck that Emily hadn't yet been captured? He felt his ears droop an inch, becoming oblivious to the rest of the world—something he hadn't allowed himself to do since he had been tasked with protecting Emily. Only her second call to him broke him out of it. "Lightning!" He turned himself around to face her. Her expression was still confident, but with a hint of worry. "Are you okay, boy?"

He looked her over. She wasn't hurt. She was safe, for now. He gave another bark in response. _How long can I keep us "okay"?_ He looked over the area again. There were guards running across the outside in numerous directions, a number of them coming towards them. He motioned his head to the fence. "Okay," she replied, still wary of her companion. "Let's keep going."

Lightning began walking away from the base again, his mind still wrapped in the uncertainty of his own abilities. He glanced at Emily. She was walking along the dirt field as well, keeping her eyes fixed on him, making a conscious effort to not look at the carnage behind them. That cut him even deeper. Was she growing scared because he was unable to protect her? Or worse, was she afraid of him now? Even the possibility of Emily doubting his ability to protect her made him uneasy. _Is it true? Can I protect anyone with these powers? Do they even make a difference other than the amount of bloodshed?_ His mind swirled around the same questions over and over, each time almost reaching an answer, and then dismissing it. He desperately longed for something that could reassure him. _What do I do, Dad?..._

He snapped back to attention at the sound of a nearby helicopter. _Very_ nearby. Emily spun around and spotted it first. "Come on, Lightning." She stared at the approaching copter a moment longer, then broke into an impressive sprint to the fence.

Lightning immediately tore after her. He could still protect her. He was going to protect her. He _had_ to.

He glanced briefly at Mittens, who seemed to be struggling to remain in place in the backpack while keeping her eyes on the helicopter. He had started to wonder if she was intentionally avoiding eye contact with him until they were away from the base. Another question that would have to wait. As he ran up to the fence, it occurred to him that there was no opening for them to pass through. He sped ahead of Emily and lowered his head, aiming for the middle section of the fence. He didn't dare look back up to see how close he was, he just needed to break through it so that Emily could get through. He quickened his pace slightly to be sure and kept his head in ramming position. The ground beneath him sped by in a green and brown blur mixed with his white fur. Several more seconds passed. The gate hadn't seemed that far away; he figured he would have rammed through it by now. He turned his head slightly, still keeping it lowered, to check that Emily was still with him. She was still back there, but she had already ran through the hole in the fence.

_The hole in the fence..._

Lightning brought himself to an almost painfully skidding halt, stopping just short of the river, barely believing what he was seeing. He had already broken through the fence, but hadn't even _felt_ anything. He hastily turned around and ran back to Emily, who had already reached the river bank. The pilot was hovering the helicopter low just above the fence, apparently wondering who to go after. He opted for Emily. The chopper raced forward down the river, closing the distance between itself and Emily like a falcon zeroing in on its fleeing pray. Lightning kept himself almost directly underneath it, mentally looking through the possible maneuvers he could attempt. He could jump up and force it down from under it, or he could race ahead and use—

Suddenly, his father's words rang through his head. _Use your instincts..._

Immediately, he dropped all of his thoughts and focused solely on Emily and the ones who threatened her. He ran ahead of the helicopter up to her side again. Even in full sprint with the helicopter almost directly behind, she still managed a smile at him. He nodded his head to the river they ran parallel to. It was fairly wide with a steadily flowing current, but nothing Emily couldn't swim. She seemed to have the same thought after a couple moments of hesitance. Her trust in him was unending. He only hoped it wasn't misplaced...

He shook the thought away again and readied himself. Emily continued to run along the river bank, making absolutely certain that Mittens was secure, then scanning along the river itself for an ideal point to jump in. She apparently concluded there was no such place , took a deep breath and a few paces away from the edge, and vaulted into the water. Lightning then began to turn around by skidding his paws on the ground to slow himself and bring his body to face the chopper. The pilot leaned the helicopter back slightly to bring it to a hover just short of where Emily had resurfaced. Lightning focused on the lower section of the chopper, but stopped before he could initiate his attack. The instability of his previous uses of his "laser eyes" had made him think it would lead to the injury of either himself or Emily. Or perhaps they simply wouldn't work at all, especially when he needed them to. It made sense to him that maybe they just needed time to...recharge, then they would be safe to use.

He suddenly realized he was looking down slightly at the river bank while thinking this. His head jerked up and saw that the helicopter was almost directly above Emily. He immediately charged forward and leapt into the air, grabbing the vehicle's tail and thrusting his head sideways. The helicopter jerked away from the river and spiraled into the forest, decapitating numerous branches in its descent. The pilot obviously abandoned all hope of recovering and made an attempt to set it down on the forest floor. It spun to a loud crash as it set down. Lightning's own landing at been more of a downward plummet that made a small crater in the earth. He didn't bother to check if he was injured and quickly ran back to the river. Emily was nearly to the opposite side of the river, swimming in a breast stroke while working to Mittens's head above water. Lightning performed another sprint as he dove in and began paddling after her.

He was on the opposite bank by the time Emily had reached it. She pulled herself up and crawled fully onto the solid ground on her hands and knees, catching her breath in deep gasps. Lightning walked in a circle around her, ensuring she wasn't hurt in any way. She seemed to be fine, just short of breath. Yet, he still couldn't be sure if she was entirely safe. Had he done enough? He nudged her head slightly with his snout to be sure. She looked up at him, still breathing heavily, and only nodded. "It's okay," she said breathlessly between gasps. "We're safe."

Lightning still looked at her with a worried gaze. Had he really kept her safe?...

She sat up and brought her backpack in front of her, once again ensuring Mittens was safe. Mittens stepped out of the backpack slowly, clearly disgusted at the amount of water soaked in her fur, but unharmed. Emily let out a frustrated sigh as she turned the backpack upside down and emptied out the contents of the pocket she carried Mittens in. The pack was waterproof, but while Emily was swimming across the river, some of the water had leaked in through the open pocket. Her scooter still seemed to work; it was her binoculars that had her worried. She began closely inspecting them, looking over every button and switch and testing to ensure they were still operational. As she was testing the binoculars, Mittens approached Lightning, still getting used to being fully soaked. "It's going to take more than a while for _this_ to dry," she said to him in an attempt at casual chatting. Lightning didn't meet her eyes, though he could still feel them locked on him. "At least we got out of there all right."

Lightning knew he couldn't dodge her efforts for long. "Yeah," he replied simply, still watching Emily.

He didn't need to say anything else. Mittens had already picked up on the insecurity in his voice, though she had probably already sensed it. "She's safe." Mittens walked into his field of view, but he still avoided eye contact by looking at the crashed helicopter. "We're all safe now. Thanks to you."

Lightning exhaled. "Has it been enough? Have I been doing enough to keep her safe?"

Lightning could feel her emerald green eyes earnestly staring right through to his heart. "Yes, you have. You've done so much so well already," she responded, using as honest and warm a tone as she ever used. "We're still here because of you. It's been more than enough. You're still getting the hang of your abilities, but you've handled yourself well." She took a step closer to him, leaning against his shoulder. "I'm very proud of you."

The words meant a lot to him, they really did, but they weren't enough to shake him of his doubts. He had used his instincts, but it had proven uncomfortably risky. He didn't break his gaze until he heard Emily's voice again. "Well, I guess everything's fine." Lightning met her eyes as she wiped a clump of wet hair onto her forehead. She was smiling again. "We did it."

_Yes, we did. Risking nearly everything, we did._ Emily could sense his melancholy spirit as well as Mittens could, though she still maintained her smile. "Yeah, um...sorry about the...language back there, I uh..." Lightning hadn't even paid any mind to what she exclaimed. His focus was on the guards. "I saw it on a TV show once. I was just...caught up in the..." She was having difficulty choosing her words, slightly embarrassed. Finally, she decided on, "Don't tell mom."

He heard Mittens laugh softly and had to permit himself a smirk. She had been caught up in the moment, undoubtedly. "Plenty of her mother in her," Mittens whispered almost to herself.

Though her mother was lost, held captive by a man pooling resources and weapons to himself, and they had to rescue her. Lightning knew all too well Emily wouldn't stop until she did. He couldn't stop her; he could only be there for her and protect her. How well he did so didn't matter. Did it?

"We're all okay?" Emily asked, replacing her binoculars and scooter in her backpack. "We know where we're going next. Better get going." She picked Mittens up and began drying her with an extra shirt as she walked along the river bank. "Come on, boy. Let's go."

She was doing her best to keep her own spirits high for the rest of them. Lightning knew she still trusted him, with her own and her family's lives, and he knew that it was possible that he could her down, but he wasn't willing to stop as long as she had faith in him.

Her faith in her family was unshakable, regardless of what happened.

He gave an enthusiastic-sounding bark, as best as he could, and began walking, as always, by her side.


	24. Chapter 23: Heartfelt Bonds

_I must apologize for the severe delay on this chapter. The start of both school and work proved hectic within days. Not to worry, I still plan on finishing this story before starting anything else. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me this far. Just seeing traffic on this story means a lot. :)_

* * *

Chapter 23: Heartfelt Bonds

A positive side of visiting London, one of many, would have been the sight-seeing. With such a large and well-known city, any visitor would have taken immense pleasure in even standing in the center of it all, observing the collection of noises, landmarks and customs that it offered. Such a bustling and somehow smooth-flowing environment would give any tourist an enriched feeling of discovery. It was a truly relaxing and enjoyable experience.

That was the ideal visit anyway.

Emily released a long, disappointed sigh and turned her back on the impressive view of the city to board the bus waiting for her. The travel to London had been so smooth and incident-free, she had hoped that maybe—_maybe_—her visit there would be a fun and enriching experience. Maybe it would be something to, at least temporarily, take her mind off of her mission and take in the places she was going, places she would never have visited under normal circumstances. In her normal life...

But her goal was not sight-seeing in the inner city. It wasn't even located there. She would have had a wonderful excursion had her parents been with her, but they weren't. They were being held at the mercy of a man bent on revenge and world domination. Her objective was to get them back, to get her life back.

Emily hadn't thought too much about Calico, even after her brief encounter with him in Kochi. At least she assumed that man was him; he certainly matched her own description of a villain seeking to control everything. The only difference between him and the ones she had seen in movies was that this one was real and pursuing her. She and Lightning were the heroes who had to save the day. She took back the words she spoke to Penny when she was younger about wanting to one day fight bad guys and save the world. It was a hope that a small child had but never actually planned on accomplishing. Now she had a hope that she _intended_ to fulfill.

She took her seat towards the rear of the double-decker bus as it lurched forward. If there was anyone on board who felt it was unfit to have a full grown American white shepherd and slender cat riding along with them, they didn't express it. Emily allowed Lightning to take the seat beside her as she slid her backpack off and pulled it front of her, making her routine supply check. She had thought that she would forget to do it a couple times and eventually drop the habit. Yet, even in her mind's weary state, she checked that all of her necessities were still with her on a regular basis. This time could be the final time she would need to, the final time she would ever have to go up against Calico and risk her life or being captured for the sake of getting her family back. It was all too wishful thinking, she knew. Still, she couldn't help but feel she had made some level of progress in the past week. All of that made a difference, didn't it?

Emily sighed again and leaned back in her seat, looking out at the passing city. The bus traveled up a road running alongside the downtown area, leading further into the suburban section of town. A row of buildings arranged in a line parallel to the road. The flow of traffic moved so uniformly alongside the maze of buildings throughout London. A city full of people simply going about their lives without a worry on where to sleep or when their next meal would be or if they would see their loved ones again. It was remarkable to Emily how her way of surviving could exist amidst a place with such a normal lifestyle. So much was going on in her life, and it was all rendered insignificant by comparison to the rest of the modern world, much of which hadn't even heard of the name Calico. Her troubles were barely even recognized by anyone. But those whom she loved, she continually reminded herself, cared for her. It was those people who she planned to get back. They were the ones that mattered.

Whether or not the end was near, she was ready to be done with the entire ordeal that had started not more than a month earlier. To her, it felt like several months had passed. The memories of her former life, vivid and beloved as they were, now seemed so distant and outdated. It felt to her as though she had entered an entirely new chapter in her life, one where she was on her own and had to sustain herself, forced to leave her family and home behind. At only age 9, she was already working for food, shelter and simply to stay alive. It was something, she believed, no child should ever be forced to endure.

_Stop it already! I don't have to endure it alone_. Lightning and Mittens were still beside her. They were why she never felt truly alone or abandoned. They were the part of her old life that still lived on. And the part that would get the rest of her old life back. She rotated her charm bracelet around her wrist, looking over each individual charm on it and reminiscing on the memories they held. She would get her family back. She hoped...

The bus ride was longer than she had thought it would be. She wasn't exactly certain how far Calico's headquarters was from downtown London, but she had thought it was on or near the bus's route. She was beginning to worry that she had either missed it or had the wrong location entirely when the bus driver announced the upcoming stop. "Approaching Kenwood forest."

The announcement caused an involuntary shutter and a wave of apprehension to surge through Emily's body. She had felt uneasy just prior to infiltrating a Calico Industries building before, but this time was different. She wasn't just breaking in to find another piece of Calico's plot, she was going in to rescue her family. Emily wasn't sure if it was the greater amount of security that was bound to be in there or the fact that she was going to be responsible for her family's safety that worried her more. Either way, Lightning could sense her sudden anxiety and nudged her arm with his snout, standing up in his seat. She looked at him and saw the same kind of worry that she was feeling, only he was ready to stand his ground and give her a boost of confidence. _I wish I had your spirit._

They got up from their seats as the bus slowed and halted at the station. She saw, as she stepped off the bus, a small station covered by a curved roof of corrugated steel supported by five pillars spaced equally apart across the station. Between each pillar was a small booth with benches and computer terminals displaying the schedules for the following three hours. It was occupied by several waiting travelers, but the station itself had an abandoned feeling to it. There was no detectable amount of the bustle or energy she had felt in the city; anyone who was there almost seemed to be making conscious efforts to divert their attention away from their location, giving little, if any, thought to their approaching bus. Lightning had noted this also and was especially vigilant, walking slightly closer to Emily.

Moving away from the station, they made their way along the side of the road towards the location marked on the map Emily had taken from the base. They gradually moved away from the road and further into the forest, carefully remaining hidden while still keeping the road in view. Emily was intentionally making her way away from the road, but she realized she would have to venture further into the forest at some point. That point came sooner than she would have preferred; she reached the sharp turn in the route she had drawn on the map. Through her series of self-coaxing, she almost didn't realize how close she was until she looked further down the path. In the middle of a large opening in the foliage was a large, gray building with a line of rectangular windows on each floor and Calico's distinctive cat-eye emblem prominently displayed near the top of the building's northern and southern face. It was enclosed in a square perimeter of electrical fence with guard towers on each corner. Emily and Lightning remained carefully in the shadows the branches overhead provided and looked over the fortification, searching for means of both entering and exiting. She kept in mind that she would need a way out that her family could escape through.

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of escaping with her family. The thought of being with her loved ones again...

The last time she had seen her mother in person, they had parted on a bitter note. Emily knew that she would understand... maybe. What she didn't know was if she was ready to face the truth of her family's past. How much was there that Penny hadn't told her?

Emily dismissed the line of thought for the moment. There was one thing she _was_ certain of: she was ready to see her family again. They could address the details later. Lightning nuzzled her side gently and wagged his tail, the best encouragement her could give her. Emily smiled and scratched his head. "Ready, boy?" she asked. Her smile widened at his playful bark and accompanying small leap. The time would come when he could be a regular dog again. "Let's go."

Getting past the fence proved to be less of an obstacle than Emily had anticipated. Lightning simply burned into one of the subsidiary power routers and severed the electricity to that half of the fence. It was penetrating the exterior of the building that would prove to be the true challenge. None of the guards at the towers visible to them had seemed to take any notice of them, but without any further brush inside the perimeter, a casual glance would be all it took to sound the alarm. Lightning didn't seem to be too concerned as he walked closely along the wall in a search for a weak point. Emily tried to reassure herself with Lightning's own composure. After all, it seemed like he could sense any trouble before it came within a mile of her at any time, and he'd never leave her unprotected. Even before he received his abilities, she was always at the forefront of his attention whenever she was nearby. Since he had been genetically enhanced, he never even left her side, if he could help it, and he certainly never allowed her to be vulnerable. He had jumped in front of a speeding car to save her...

The sea of memories from that day quickly flooded back into her head, despite her best attempts to keep them away. She remembered how scared she felt, when she listened to how Calico handled her family and when she watched Lightning dangerously test the limits of his abilities. That day showed them both that, in spite of Lightning's power, he was still vulnerable. But this never seemed to deter him; he was still the loyal companion she knew him to be. That was what scared her most. What if something happened that would change him forever? She sighed. It wouldn't do her any good to start worrying when they were so close to the end.

She returned her attention to Lightning, who had stopped moving along the wall and was keeping his eyes locked on the southern gate behind where she was standing. She quickly turned around and saw that the gate had been opened and a caravan of armored Humvees was moving through it. She caught her breath and froze up where she stood. It took her several seconds to break out of the state of terror and persuade her legs to start running back towards the fence. "Come on, Lightning!" she shouted, keeping her eyes on the hole in the fence. It wasn't until she reached it that she looked back and saw him running back from further away. _Why didn't he follow me right from the start? Did he... hesitate?_

Glancing back at the Humvees, which were advancing further into the enclosure, she shook away the thoughts and ran through the hole and continued to run through the forest with Lightning right behind her. If Calico had known she was going to be there, then this had to be the welcoming committee for her. But why hadn't they brought more forces with them? Especially considering this was where Emily's parents were being held, she had expected them to converge on the base with everything they had. Her escape shouldn't have been this easy. But maybe she hadn't seen everything they had just yet. Mittens moved aside so that Emily could maneuver her scooter out of her backpack while she was running. She unfolded it and powered it up, only slowing to a speedy walk along the forest back towards the road. She instantly activated the hover feature and hopped on it. The small motor revved to life and she accelerated it through the dense maze of trees and bushes, sighing as the road came into view. She was so close... and now she had to—

As she came to the road, she spotted all too late another Humvee driving down the road toward her from the left. She screamed and made a sharp turn to the right. Lightning vanished from her side. Emily turned her head to look at the rapidly approaching Humvee, watching Lightning as he ran forward and pounded the front left end of the vehicle. The driver, not having enough time to react to the sudden chain of events swerved into Lightning, causing the Humvee to leap off the ground and roll off the road into the forest. One of its rocket launchers exploded as it did so and the force threw Emily off of her scooter into the field on the opposite side of the road. She heard Mittens yelp sharply as she was lifted from the backpack, but she could do nothing about it. Her own body flipped through the air once before somersaulting through the tall grass. It was only after her vision stopped spinning that she realized she had come to a halt.

* * *

Lightning shook off the initial shockwave of the impact with the car. It was not an experience he was eager to repeat. The car had been completely wrecked and was in flames. He didn't care all that much about its passengers. But who he _did_ care about was nowhere in sight. He trotted over to the other side of the road and scanned for Emily and Mittens. He only found the scooter, lying on its side next to the pavement. His heartbeat quickened and he started searching the field, keeping the franticness that tugged at his heart at bay. He located some movement in the grass and ran towards it. He found Emily lying on her back, staring hazily into the sky. He did a once-over of her; there were no apparent injuries. A moan was the only response she could bring herself to give when he nudged her head. It took her a few seconds to regain full awareness. When she finally lifted herself up on her elbows, she looked at him and gave him a weak grin. His worry was replaced by relief and he licked her cheek.

Emily giggled and wiped her cheek with her t-shirt shoulder. The levity was short-lived; her smile slowly faded as she looked around her, growing more worried with each visual sweep. "Mittens?" Lightning felt his anxiety wash over him again. Where was his mother? He hadn't seen her at first either. Emily got to her feet suddenly and began frantically searching. "Mittens? _Mittens_?! Where are you?"

She started to run back toward her scooter when she saw a small patch of black among the green grass. Mittens came into view as Lightning sprinted after Emily. His heart sunk to the bottom of his chest when he saw her. She was lying on her side, making an effort to move herself. Lightning quickly ran to her side as Emily knelt down and hesitated as to whether she should pick her up. Mittens weakly moved her eyes, but not her head, onto Lightning as he looked down on her and smiled.

"Hey, kiddo," she greeted in a weakened version of her smooth voice. "I guess... I... am a little older than... I'd like to admit."

She attempted a soft chuckle, but only winced in pain at the movement in her chest. "Mom..." Lightning's voice was barely a whisper. He had never felt so powerless. "Mom, I... just hold on. Hold on, okay? You... you're not bleeding. Emily's going to pick you up and we're going to—"

Mittens moved her paw as best as she could over Lightning's. "It's too late... son." Her breaths were becoming further and further apart. "I can't... move my legs, and..."

She attempted to say the words, but none came out. Lightning's voice cracked. "No..." She couldn't die. Not now. Not like this. He wasn't ready for her to leave. He needed someone to guide him. _I can't lose her. I'm not ready. I still need... _some_one..._

The confusion in his eyes must have been clear to her, as it usually was. "Don't worry. I've taught... you everything you need. Don't worry. You can make it... you and Emily. You're both so strong... I know... I know you'll be fine..."

"No! I'm not ready. I can't do this without you!" Lightning brought his nose close to her own. Her breaths were becoming much more deliberate. This was his fault, and he could do nothing about it. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, mom. I've failed both of you..."

Mittens only shook her head, or at least rocked it slightly on the ground. Emily's stifled crying was growing louder as she gently stroked Mittens's crippled body. "Mittens..." was all she could occasionally manage.

Mittens purred at her touch to reassure her. "You've done so well... You have all you need now. I know... You have so much of your father in you..." She took a long and painful breath. "He would be so proud of you," she whispered, maintaining her grin. "I know I am..."

Emily was now allowing hiccupping sobs to escape as a steady flow of tears streamed down her cheeks.

Lightning's mind was centered around how much she had done for him since his birth. It was all he could think of. Why was he so powerless to help her now? He only wished he could at least ease her pain. How much else was beyond his power? He made an effort to speak again. "I'm not going to let this happen again. I... I can't."

Mittens held his gaze lovingly without falter. "Don't... try to control everything. You can't help all there is—_to_ help. Just focus on what...really matters... The ones... you love... That's all it takes. I love you..." Her eyelids drooped. "Nothing can break that bond..."

Closing her eyes, she released a breath. And she did not take in another.


	25. Chapter 24: Doubt

Chapter 24: Doubt

Penny had already grown used to the usual shutter of Calico's facility that occurred roughly every half hour or so. It was simply a result of Calico having started his collection of natural resources, or Mark had told her. But even now, it still caused her an involuntary shiver. It reminded her all too much of what stood between her and Emily. She inched closer to Adam on their cot and held his hand tightly. He kept his eyes on her intently, ready to console her as he always seemed to be when she was disheartened. She couldn't find the right words to say to him, not that she ever had to in order to receive his care. Still, she wanted to just talk to him, to hear his voice, even if it wasn't necessarily reassurance.

It took her a few moments to find any words at all. "I wish we'd just hear something about her already," she whispered to him. "It's been too quiet."

Adam shrugged. "That's a good sign. She's probably stayed out of sight, _and_ out of danger."

Penny was right. His voice alone was soothing. But it was not enough to shake her doubts off. "She should've come close by now. She was supposed to have... found something that would lead her here. I thought that—"

"Was supposed to?" Adam repeated, his expression changing from reassuring to incredulous.

"What?" she asked, sensing his sudden and growing anger.

He lifted his head slightly from his pillow, releasing his grip on her hands. "What did you mean by 'was supposed to'? Like all of this is part of your plan?"

He rose further from the cot, resting on his elbow and still giving her a now annoyed look. His feelings of comfort were starting to vanish from him. Penny looked at him somewhat confused. "What are you talking about? You know what I had in mind for Calico. We'd let ourselves be captured so that Emily could—"

"So that she could what?" Adam cut her off, raising his voice. "What is it that you have in mind for our daughter. Our _daughter_, Penny! What have you been planning for her? To use her in your plot to bring Calico down? Is that what she's become to you now? A tool? A playing card?!"

"Adam!" Penny snapped, shifting to lean on her elbow also. What had come over him? Why had he seemed so sensitive less than a minute ago and now was so reproving of her? "We've been through this. It was the safest way we could manage in the time that we had. This way, she'll be—"

"In even _more_ danger than if one of us stayed with her!" Adam finished her sentence again, his rising tone suggesting that he had completely disregarded their surroundings. "Instead of being there to comfort and protect her, like we as parents were _supposed_ to be, we left her to be hunted by Calico alone!"

That was the statement that cut Penny the deepest. "I _have_ been there for her! I _have_ provided for her!" she roared, sitting all the way up and staring daggers into Adam. "She's _not_ alone! I've given her everything she's needed! Don't you _dare_ accuse me of leaving her to die!"

"Then why are you in here?!" Adam shouted, still lying on his side. His voice hadn't lowered, but his physical appearance showed he had been taken aback by her outburst. Maybe he hadn't expected her to be so defensive at this point, or perhaps he didn't realize the volume of their voices. Penny didn't care.

"You know damn well why I let her go! Because there'd be a greater chance of Calico searching for her."

"Yeah, that worked out well, didn't it?"

She ignored him. "Because we've given her everything she needs, because she's _not_ alone in this, because she is intelligent and resourceful enough to survive out there! She and Lightning have enough determination than any of us to stay alive and keep moving forward!"

"Calm down, both of you!" Mark spoke in a stern but moderate tone. Penny turned her head towards him, finding him sitting on the edge of his cot, facing them. He wore an exhausted expression, laced with annoyance at their argument. She knew he was only trying to keep their minds calm and focused—as he always had done for Penny's childhood and through Emily's entire life—but that didn't excuse Adam's hostile accusations. "We've already discussed everything there is to discuss about the plan, and it's already well in motion. What's done is done. Bickering about it isn't going to help either us or Emily."

Penny stood up while Adam sat on the edge of their cot, still looking at her. "There's still more we can do for her," he said, to both of them this time. "We don't have to just sit here and hope that she can handle it. Especially when we know she won't be able to for much longer!"

"You should have more faith in her," Penny replied in a flat tone, not facing him. "I told you, she's strong and she has Lightning. I know she'll never give up."

"Everyone has their breaking point, Penny. Emily's strong, I know, but she can't keep up like this. It's just getting too dangerous." Adam held a neutral expression, but only barely lowered his voice. "We need to act, or this plan won't work."

"You said yourself you believed it would work," Mark noted, still in a moderate tone.

"I said I _hoped_ it would work, and so far, it hasn't been going well. We need to start making some sort of backup plan if our first assumptions turn out to be wrong."

"We can't know for sure. All we can be certain of is that Emily will endure."

"We can't even be certain of that much! All we hear about this is what Calico _lets_ us hear! We need to know exactly what is happening out there!" Mark was about to speak again, but Adam didn't give him the chance. "I want to know what's happening with my daughter!"

Penny's only reaction was a sharp inhale, keeping her face out of Adam's sight. She was tempted to turn around and see what Adam's expression was, but she didn't want to face him at the moment. It was a handful of painfully silent moments before Mark spoke, now in a stern tone with an edge to it. "She's Penny's daughter too. And you ought to have faith that she's doing what's best for her family. She certainly has faith in you."

Penny heard Adam lay back down on the cot again after several more seconds of silence. He wasn't going to object again. Finally, she sat down next to her father on his cot, careful to keep her eyes off of Adam. It took her a few seconds to find her voice back. "He's... not completely wrong," she whispered, her eyes beginning to water. "We have to get to her. One of us... has to make sure she's okay."

All of her father's resentment seemed to evaporate at that moment. None of it had been directed at her, she knew, but it still scared her. As long as she could remember, he had always held a collected and steady composure, aside from the time when he was first captured. She didn't want to believe that their family was beginning to fracture. _It can't..._

"Are... the vents... Could we still use them?" she inquired.

"Yes," he responded coolly. "I checked them just the other night after I broke the grate off. They still haven't noticed. You should be able to get out undetected through there."

At last, she felt some reassurance that they were in control of something. "Then what? How do I find her?"

Mark pulled a small, black rectangle from under his cot and handed it to her. "They never found it in the search," he said, with some level of satisfaction, pressing a button that showed a map of their area. "Do you remember the charms for Emily's bracelet I got last summer?" Penny nodded, remembering Emily's great enjoyment with the charm bracelet . "This device will track one of the 'charms', specifically one I gave her recently."

Penny felt her heart leap with joy inside her. She could find her daughter back.

She made a small sack out of two of the pillow cases, sticking the tracker and her family picture inside, not asking if Adam wanted the latter to stay—he was laying on their cot on his side, staring down at the floor—and waited while Mark eased the grate off of the ceiling. Moving her hands across both sides of her head, she gathered her hair and formed it into a ponytail, not looking at Adam whenever possible. Mark set the grate on his cot and then hugged her tightly. "Stay safe," he whispered into her ear.

Backing away, he cupped his hands into a foothold for her below the vent. "I'll find her," she promised, stepping onto his hands and jumping up to the vent.

Before she climbed through, she permitted herself one last glance at Adam. He was sitting up now, and their eyes met. She almost waited for a "Be careful," or even an "I love you." Instead, she held his gaze for a moment, then ascended into the air duct.

I'll always be here. You'll have me whenever you need me. Her own statement sounded as clear in her head as ever. She wouldn't break that promise. Not again...

_I'm coming, Emily._

* * *

Emily was well aware of the saying "Life isn't fair." Her parents had made no small note of reminding her of that throughout her childhood. Fairness, of course, was relative. Sometimes, "unfairness" was used to explain dissatisfaction, not achieving a desired result. Life just wasn't fair.

None of that made her feel any different towards Mittens's death. She had been with her, traveling with her, for all that time, and one incident later she was dead. A month earlier, she was living a wonderful and comfortable life. An hour earlier, she had been perfectly healthy. Frail and old—nearing twenty years of age, an unimaginable lifespan for a household pet—but still healthy. She didn't exactly have a full life ahead of her, but she could have easily lived for several more months, and she _should_ have lived out her final years, or months, of life the way she had been before: happily in her safe house with her family. That's how she should have lived, and that's where she should have died.

Instead, she had been killed while her best friend Emily, and her canine offspring, Lightning, were being hunted by the same man who had hunted Penny and Bolt before them. Emily drew a shaky breath in realization, almost ignoring Lightning as he leaned against her leg in condolence. Mittens hadn't even died while they were being actively hunted. Those vehicles she had spotted entering the base weren't even looking for her. No one had even noticed them. The only evidence that Emily was anywhere on the premises would be the destroyed Humvee a short distance away. It was her own paranoia that resulted in her companion's death. Despite her best efforts to convince herself otherwise, she couldn't shake the feeling of responsibility. Lightning wouldn't blame her, but could she do the same? _It shouldn't have been this way, _she thought. _She didn't deserve to die her like this. It should have been peacefully, with her family—her _entire_ family with her. None of this should have ever happened. She could have lived... she should have..._

Emily finally turned her gaze off of Mittens's grave, barely fighting back another wave of bitter crying so that Lightning wouldn't be any more upset. He was all she had now, the only part of her family and her life she had left. She bent down and hugged him tightly, shivering as the wind gently blew through the tall grass around them. Gray clouds were beginning to form overhead, not necessarily storm clouds, Emily thought, but they reminded her of the passing time. As she released him from the embrace, her eyes fell on her charm bracelet. It had served as a reminder of her family and a symbol of reassurance for her, but now, it only reminded her of one thing: what had happened to her world.

Her family was gone. Lightning was all that was left. Not only had her parents been kidnapped, but she lost one of her family members as a result. Her emotions began to swell inside her. She felt uncertain and scared in the time following Penny's message to her, but now, she was feeling betrayed and even more frightened. Penny told her she would be safe if she laid low, but she didn't mention how they would ever reunite with her again. She didn't want to live without her loving parents, so she _had_ to attempt to save them, and now it had cost her a friend. A member of their family. It was an event that never should have happened and no one was there for her when it did. Lightning and herself were alone and abandoned, left to fend for themselves in a blink. _It's her fault... all of it..._

Anger and grief were all she could feel at the moment. In the middle of it, there was the inescapable feeling of hatred for her mother. She never told her anything about Calico. How could she ever think her daughter would be ready if this arose again? And why would she only explain it in a rushed message before leaving her to run away on her own? Mittens was dead now _because_ she was alone, _because_ there was no one there to guide her! She shouted in tearful rage as she tore the bracelet off and threw it away. It landed only a foot or so away from the grave. Lightning gave her a look of melancholy concern, almost as though he were saying, "You don't have to do that. It's going to get better."

She couldn't accept it. Not now. "Come on," she barely whispered, kissing him on the head." She stood, swung her backpack around her shoulders and looked back down at the grave. "I'm sorry," she thought out loud, with only the wind to break the long silence preceding it.

Stopping Calico wasn't her quest anymore. Nor was saving her parents. The only thing that was important to her now was preserving what was left of her life: obeying her mother for the last time and staying out of Calico's sight.


	26. Chapter 25: Dark Times

Chapter 25: Dark Times

_Aaaaaaand... I'm back! I hope you're all having a wonderful Holiday Season. I know I've been having fun writing this story. Longer chapter today. My plan is to make it 30 chapters (28, plus Prologue and Epilogue), but it may be longer. I'll take it as it comes. :) Thank you to eliot reader and BoltandMaybelle4ever for reviewing. A big Thank You also to everyone who's still sticking with the story. You guys rock._

_Enough chatter. Onward!_

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_Straight. Just go straight._ Penny kept telling herself that whenever she came to a junction in the vents. It never became any more reassuring after each time, but it seemed to be working. There was nothing to indicate she was going the wrong way, though nothing about the vents, whether it was the design or the airflow, was a clear sign in either direction.

She past grate after grate, and each room she looked into bore a very similar appearance to the previous one. There was nothing but stacked crates and scattered computer consoles, an occasional guard or scientist or two, none of whom bothered to look up at the vent. Most of the time, the staff present in a room, if any, were too engrossed in their work or their sleep at their desks. Penny was generally unimpressed with what she saw. If this was all that Calico had going for himself, crippling his operations would be even easier the second time, which would mean less of a task for Emily.

Just as her mind wandered back to her memories of Emily, she stopped herself in the vent to look into the room she had just passed. It was in sharp contrast to all of the rooms before it; it still had four gray, metal walls like the previous ones, but its contents made up the color of the room. There were two large rugs—one at the doorway, and the other in the makeshift living room—as well as orange-brown curtains that served as dividers between the rooms: an entryway/living room, a bedroom which the grate was directly above, a kitchen, and a larger bedroom. It didn't take long for Penny to realize this wasn't some research room, it was housing. Someone actually lived here with their family. Penny could only guess it was for some administrator or benefactor, but what didn't make sense to her was why this person had his or her whole family living here. _Why would someone working for Calico want their family with them?_ She understood the desire to keep the family near while working a job in a foreign location, but to have them live on the workplace was unusual in any profession.

She leaned in closer to the grate in an attempt to get a better view of the room when it suddenly detached and seemed to float downward. Penny jerked her head back into the vent just as a guard was stepping up a ladder to peer in. She scrambled further down the vent as fast as she could without making much noise. But once she got a meter beyond the opening, the shaft beneath somehow gave way and she fell into the room onto the smaller bed. As she got upright on the side of the bed, she found herself staring down the chamber of a 9mm pistol being held by a black-suited and helmeted security guard, adorned with a Calico Industries symbol on his chest and armed with a taser next to his pistol holster. She glanced down at the section of vent shaft she had been sitting on, apparently loosened by that guard. "Well, well," the guard said from behind his faceplate. Penny restrained herself from making a sarcastic remark or expression over the clichéd exclamation. "Good thing we inspect the vents. There's all kinds of rats running around here."

"That's why we're here," his fellow guard, stepping down from his step ladder and placing the grate Penny had been looking through on the bed, clearly having little regard for the bed's owner. "It takes a cat."

Penny couldn't tell if they had known she was there or if they just discovered her now. Either way, they were being arrogant enough about it. She began to stand, but the guard pressed the pistol pressed against her shoulder and sat her back down on the bedside. "You sit tight while I call this in," the guard stated, with no shortage of pride in his voice. Penny couldn't keep her replies back any longer.

"You're really sure you want to keep me here?" she asked innocently. "I could find opportunities."

The arrogance in the guard's tone was partially replaced by anger. "More than you could if we moved you?" he snarled, pressing the pistol harder into Penny's shoulder. "I don't think so." He nodded to his companion. "Call the boss."

As the other guard pressed two fingers to the side of his helmet, someone walked into the "room" out of the corner of Penny's eye. "Are you almost done?" a young, female voice asked. "You've been looking through the vents for almost…"

The voice trailed off. Penny turned her head enough to see a teenage girl, probably thirteen or fourteen, with black, pageboy style hair and dressed casually standing in the doorway with a surprised expression. Penny figured she was the room's occupant; the daughter of the wealthy bureaucrat, apparently accustomed to seeing guards in her housing space, but no one else.

"Come back later," the guard in front of Penny ordered. "In fact, go get your dad. He'll want to see this."

As the teenager began to back out of the room, Penny realized that her captor's attention was not fully on her anymore, he had his head turned towards the girl. She quickly sprang up, pushing the gun away, discharging it in the process. The girl screamed as Penny grabbed the guard's taser, activated it, and threw it into the abdomen of the other guard. She didn't have time to watch him crumple to the ground; she turned back to the guard she was grappling with in time to take a punch straight to the face. The guard then kicked her legs, but she returned the kick much harder, punched his helmet and knocked him against the wall. She raised one leg, twirled ninety degrees on the other foot, and sent a well-aimed kick directly into the center of the other guard's abdomen. He stopped all efforts at shooting Penny and held his hands over his fresh injury and dropped to his knees, only capable of making soft, occasional groans.

Penny grabbed the gun from him as he fell to the floor and turned back to the teenager. Her face had gone white and her feet were rooted in place. Penny was about to reassure her when another guard came through the main door. "Lindsay, did you check the-"

His question barely began when he saw Penny. He seemed to be dressed in a suit similar to Calico's guards, but without a helmet, with slightly less body armor and an insignia on the chest. The girl looked to him, seeking protection beyond a simple security guard. So _this_ was the expensive employee and his family, this captain of the guard. He had to know something. Without a second thought, she advanced towards Lindsay. She broke into a sprint towards her father, but Penny was a step ahead and grabbed her arm, pulling her back and wrapping her arm around the girl's throat, pressing the pistol against her temple. She screamed up until that moment; any further screams were replaced by sheer terror. The captain's expression had gone to frantic concern as well and he began to reach for his sidearm. "Don't try it!" Penny shouted, holding the girl tightly. "Stay where you are!"

The captain stopped her hand, but still kept it hovering over his holster. His steely expression clearly betrayed his emotions, since his voice was barely audible. "Let her go… don't…"

Penny moved with Lindsay towards the door. "Back up!" He stayed where he was. "_Move!_ Move, damn it! I'll blow her to Kingdom Come!"

He stepped backwards, moving hastily into the hall, never taking his eyes off of them. Lindsay was trembling and began to whimper softly, tears flowing down her cheeks even with eyes shut tight. As the man moved further into the hall—not completely out of sight, but far enough away—Penny, replacing all malice in her voice with tenderness, whispered into Lindsay's ear, "It's okay. You're okay. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." The girl opened her eyes and stared at Penny, who slackened her grip on her throat. "I promise you, you're going to be all right. I just need to get out of here, so you need to work with me on this. Okay?"

Lindsay was clearly both surprised and still somewhat terrified, but she nodded slowly and seemed to calm herself a little. Penny moved with Lindsay into the hall back into the captain's full view, doing a quick scan to ensure no one else was around. They had the hall to themselves. The captain had moved both of his hands out in front of him in a bargaining sort of way a man does when cornered. And to Penny, this was the worst way anyone could ever be cornered. "Please, hold on… just…" he pleaded, making clear he had no intention to draw his pistol. "Take it easy. What is it you want?"

How stupid a question, but Penny could understand his inability to think clearly at that moment. "My _daughter_! Emily! Where is she?!"

"Okay… all right. Um…" His line of thought seemed to be coming back to him, slowly.

"Give me my little girl," Penny growled, pressing the gun harder to Lindsay's right temple. "and I'll give you yours."

"I don't know if… Just take it easy…"

"Don't tell me to take it easy! I want to know where my little girl is!" Penny's rage began to grow again. "She's lost out there! Lost because of _you_! You, Calico and all his other agents! I've lost her because of you!"

"I know that!" the man roared back, fully snapping out of his stammering fear. "You think I wanted this? Do you think I want to give up my own girl just to please my boss?! I never wanted to disrupt any families, but it's hard to avoid that when Calico has yours tied up in a noose! You're not the first one to threaten my daughter over yours!"

He was taken aback by the tone of his own voice and faltered slightly, looking away from Penny and Lindsay for the first time down at the floor. Penny finally saw why his family was there with him. It wasn't a "bring-your-family-along-on-a-work-trip" accommodation. It was leverage. Calico probably saw it as an incentive for him: if he worked to keep the plan running, Calico would continue to sustain the family. If he didn't work as hard, the family would suffer as a result. She quelled some of the hatred in her and tried to level with him. "My family isn't in that much better of a situation. At least you have your daughter with you. I don't even know where mine is."

"Yeah, well, you go and find her, then you come back here and destroy everything Calico's working for. How does that help my daughter?"

"You'll be free from Calico. We stop him, and he won't be able to—"

"If I let you go, Calico punishes me through _my_ family! I'd be giving up my family to save yours."

Penny grimaced. She couldn't save her family without sacrificing another. Was this part of Calico's "master plan" as well? "Calico wouldn't know that it was you who let me escape."

The man shook his head. "No, you don't understand. He _will_ know. He always finds these things out. When one of our agents let your daughter go—he actually spilled a couple facts—Calico knew. He always knows. He's hunting for him right now. I pray to God, Wilson…"

He sighed and left the sentence hanging. Penny suddenly felt sympathy for some of Calico's workers. They weren't all sinister like he was. Maybe they were just looking for ways to keep their families fed. Maybe they didn't even want to be part of this either. "Look," Penny said, her voice softening substantially. "The sooner I can get to my daughter, the better chance I'll have to stop Calico and help your family. I can't promise anything, but I can… I _have_ to try."

He looked at her with helpless eyes, caught between two major paths for his loved ones, then looked back down at the floor. Penny felt her heart sink like a stone into her stomach. She knew the feeling all too well. She whispered again into Lindsay's ear, "What's your father's name?"

"Bruce," she responded much more calmly. She seemed to be understanding both of their circumstances.

Penny nodded and spoke up again. "Bruce." He lifted his head and met her eyes again. "I promise, if I can get to her, I will do everything that is in my power to prevent Calico from doing any more harm to you. You just… have to give me that chance."

Bruce considered it for a long moment. He looked at Penny, then at Lindsay, then back at her. All three of them had forgotten the gun pointed to the girl's head. Bruce hadn't even noticed when Penny flicked the safety on and took her finger off the trigger. His mind circulated around his family for most of this time. There was a point in his favor. "Last…" He had trouble finding his voice back. "The last we heard from her… was… that she was headed to London. Headed _here_."

Both relief and further worry washed over her. Emily was close, and now she had a way to reach her. She took the gun away from Lindsay's head, but still kept her other arm around her shoulders and began to back down the hall away from Bruce. He raised his arms back up again cautiously. "Your daughter will be all right. I just need some insurance on the way out," Penny said quietly, keeping the gun tightly in her grip just in case. "Thank you. I'll do what I can for you, your family and your… coworkers, as it were." Bruce didn't appear convinced, but he stayed where he was. "I promise," she added before walking Lindsay down the hall. She had already broken one promise. She wasn't to break this one. It was more of a promise to herself.

Fortunately, Lindsay proved to be unnecessary insurance. They hadn't encountered any personnel, guards or scientists, by the time they found an accessible vent again. Penny had shifted her hold on her to one hand on her right arm and tried once to start a conversation with Lindsay, but it hadn't lasted beyond several words. Apparently they both figured there was little more to say after that encounter. Though she did help Penny pull the grate away from the vent and even gave her a boost up. "Thanks for playing along," Penny said, holstering the gun in the waist of her pants. Lindsay gave her a timid smile, but was clearly still distraught by the ordeal. "Hey," she said with the same tenderness as before. "Your dad's going to be fine."

Lindsay widened her grin a little. "I… hope you find your daughter," she offered.

Penny smiled down at the teenager. "Thank you." _I do too_.

The journey out of the base from there was most fortunately uneventful. Bruce apparently didn't raise the alarm because no one had seemed to notice Penny's absence even after she cleared the outer perimeter. Another point in his favor. The ventilation duct wasn't all that complicated to navigate when it came to reaching the outside; after the first few junctions, her fears of losing her way in the system had minimized. All she needed to do once she got her bearings was head in the direction of the air flow. She came across the first vent leading outside just as she started to suspect her planned route was too simple. It didn't lead out to the base grounds like she had assumed, but instead, to her surprise, the outlet was well outside the base perimeter. She stepped out into the forest and could only barely see the perimeter fence through the dense foliage. The vent went this far out probably to keep fresh air circulating throughout the entire area, or so Penny surmised.

She pulled the tracking screen out of her makeshift rucksack and activated it, mentally praising her father for his constant preparedness. Her heart seemed to stop for several seconds as she read the map on the screen showing two different colored dots. The green point represented Penny, and the yellow was Emily.

Both of them within half a kilometer of each other.

It wasn't until she felt lightheaded that she actually released the breath she had been holding and fully realized what she was seeing. Emily, her daughter whom she had been kept from for so long, was only a short distance away. She nearly leapt up from where she was kneeling and ran off in the indicated direction of Emily's signal, having to continually wipe away the tears that were forming in her eyes to see clearly where she was going. Two or three weeks—Penny had lost count—had passed since she had last spoken to her daughter. To her, it felt like several years of long of painful separation. Years that were finally about to come to a wonderful end. Everything about Calico and his operations was dismissed in her mind; the only remaining thought she had was to hold Emily in her arms again. There was nothing more important to her in that moment but reuniting with her daughter.

When she reached the road, she did not stop running to check to see if any traffic was approaching, going against one of the largest rules she had taught Emily as a child. She made a mental note of the irony. Another glance down at the tracker showed the two points were drawing closer and closer to each other. When it showed only twenty meters in distance, Penny began calling out Emily's name, not slowing her pace. She could feel the excitement and apprehension welling up inside her; she wanted nothing more than to see her daughter again, but at the same time, she was uncertain if she was prepared to speak with her after what they had done to Lightning and how they isolated her. Adam's words still send a cold shudder through her. How would Emily react to seeing her again? What had she even been going through since their separation?

Whether she was ready or not, Penny was going to learn those answers.

Her shouts, and subsequently her heartbeat, came to an abrupt halt when she spotted a small mound of dirt in middle of a clearing in the tall grass. She slowly took several steps towards it and inhaled sharply when she saw what lay on top. She knelt down beside the mound and picked Mittens's collar up from off of it. Studying it in her hand, the realization struck her like a stoning. It was a grave. Emily had buried Mittens here.

Tears began to flow from her eyes as naturally as a stream. It was only a taste of the suffering Emily must have been going through, but it was already too much. She had lost her home, her life, and now, a family member, her best friend. Penny clutched the collar tightly in her hand and placed her other hand on the grave. "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

She stifled any oncoming sobs for the moment, remembering how close by Emily was. It had been far too long since she was there for her daughter and, Penny could well imagine, she needed her now more than ever. Tucking the collar into her pocket, she took the tracking screen out again and found herself and Emily's dot on the map, and froze. They were only two meters apart.

Penny's head shot up and quickly surveyed the area, but Emily was nowhere to be seen. It didn't take long for her eyes to fall on the charm bracelet, lying about two meters away from the grave. She slowly took a few steps towards it and picked it up, studying it in her hand and feeling her heart sink as she did so. _Why aren't you wearing this, Emily? What happened?_ She looked closer at the link to find it had been forcefully broken off. Emily had lost Mittens, angrily ripped her charm bracelet, one of the few remaining parts of her old life, off and cast it aside. She felt betrayed and wanted no further memory of her lost family.

Now, Penny's only chance of finding her daughter was lost.

She switched the tracking screen off and stowed it back in her rucksack, keeping the bracelet in her hand. She fell back to her knees and clutched it to her chest, leaning forward and using one shaky arm to support her as she cried softly. Occasionally, "No…" or "Emily…" would escape her lips between sobs. She had been so close; Emily had come so close to reuniting with her, and now…

Now, Emily was lost and in a worse state than ever. Penny had failed her. She had failed Mark, Bruce, Lindsay… and Adam. She couldn't even keep her promises to complete strangers, let alone her own daughter. She had been responsible for her daughter's safety, and she left her to fend for herself. Now, there was nothing in her control.

Her whimpering escalated to soft sobbing and she didn't even feel her shirt becoming soaked as rain drops began to pour down over her. With the combination of her cries and the rain, she never even heard the unfamiliar voice calling "Excuse me! Ma'am?" until the third, most vocal attempt.

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked to her right to see a tall man standing a few meters away from her. She wiped her eyes and cleared a clump of damp hair out of her face to focus in on him. He wore a brown suit coat and a matching fedora, had a light beard and appeared to be entering his early forties. She brought her right knee up to her chest so she could move Emily's bracelet to her left hand and keep her right hand ready to draw her gun. The man clearly sensed her apprehension. "It's all right," he reassured. "I'm here to help you. I understand you've lost your daughter?"

Penny was careful to hide any further physical signs of wariness. "What makes you think that?" She wanted any help she could find, but the only way this man could know anything was if he worked for Calico. Then, she thought back to Bruce and his situation. They weren't _all_ the ruthless killers Calico usually hired… "Who are you?" she asked.

The man simply smiled and tilted his hat up just enough that his full face was visible. "At the moment, in your case, I'm a friend," he replied, his voice calmly certain. "All you really need to know is that I can help you find your daughter."

Penny's instincts weren't willing to suddenly throw in with this man whom she had just met and claimed to know where Emily, but she wasn't about to pass up perhaps the only opportunity she'd have to get her back. She had made a promise. She stood slowly, wiping her face clear of the moisture caused by her tears and the rain. "How do you know this? I'm to understand you're against Calico?"

The man shook his head. "I'm only on one person's side: My own. I'm the only person I answer to, and I'm my own boss." His tone smoothed out a little more. "And I say I can help you get your daughter back. Emily, right?" He waited a moment before Penny nodded slowly. "And you're Penny?" She gave him another cautious nod. "Okay, Penny. I guess you'll just have to trust me on this. Call me Talon."


	27. Chapter 26: Quid Pro Quo

_Excuses, excuses, excuses! I was away from the keyboard for longer than I like this past month, so, another long wait for a chapter. But, consequentially, this one is edited more and fairly long. So, that worked out pretty well. ;)_

_Thanks to everyone who's been sticking with me. Your support (whether its reviewing or simply reading) means a lot. We are nearing the end of this story, I'm both pleased and saddened to announce. Seems unlikely, I know, but I actually have the ending planned out. Shocking, right? So, I'll be doing my best to get these last chapters up as quickly as I can. Enjoy!_

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Chapter 26: Quid Pro Quo

Mark had always told Penny never to get into a car with an unfamiliar man, and it seemed to her that there wasn't a better time to put that advice into practice than her current situation. She thought her teenage years would have been the more vulnerable part of her life, but then, she had Bolt and grew up in a tight-knit and very safe community. This time around, she was far from home, being hunted by a mad doctor and federal prison fugitive, and desperately trying to find her nine-year-old daughter. And yet, she offered no opposition when Talon opened the car door for her. Though, she still ensured her pistol was loaded and secure in her makeshift holster.

He didn't seem like the type who lured young women to their rape and deaths—in fact, he seemed to be well past that in age alone—and if he had even the slightest hint as to where Emily was, Penny was willing to trust him. For the time being.

The interior of the Jeep was well kept, with soft, spotless fabric seats and clean mats on the floor. Aside from the smell of cigar smoke, it seemed almost brand new. The possibility that Talon was an agent of Calico had already occurred to Penny, which of course would mean that she had just unwittingly walked back into her cell, but it also occurred to her that this man was an agent of another organization possibly working against Calico. The latter was the most improbable of the two scenarios, and yet she had a feeling that he wasn't an enemy. It was one of those feelings that has no basis other than one's own conscience. Still, she needed to confirm her suspicions. "How exactly do you know where she is?" Penny asked as Talon climbed into the driver's seat and whispered something to his associate seated in front of her. In hindsight, it would have been a good thing to ask before getting into the car.

Talon nodded to the other man and turned his head towards Penny. "We've been tracking her since she left Los Angeles."

_Tracking_. The word left a sour taste in Penny's mouth and a renewed sense of apprehension in her heart. Why would they be tracking _Emily_? She shifted in her seat so that her pistol was in a more draw-ready position. "How and why have you been tracking her?"

Talon grinned slyly, which didn't ease her suspicions. "Let's keep it balanced here, Penny. My questions next." He turned back to the front, shifted the Jeep into drive and began driving down the road. Penny didn't much feel like answering questions; she only wanted Talon's supposed answers. _Why does he have to make this some sort of game? If this is how I get them, then… if he actually knows, maybe…_ "Your husband and father are still in Calico's custody?"

It seemed harmless enough. Why he even had to ask was the one thing that tugged at her. "Yes, they are." It took her a few seconds to realize it was her turn. "Why have you been tracking Emily?"

Talon seemed to consider the question for a moment. He kept his gaze on the road ahead as he answered. "The organization I work with took note of Calico's return to what's left of his corporation. We looked for acts of aggression―most of the things we found were harmless business movements, shipping schedules, nothing illegal―the only thing that came up was a small domestic disturbance at your house."

Penny tensed up. _A disturbance_. At her home. She knew Calico would look through the house, but they shouldn't have caused a disturbance. The only reason as to why they would cause a commotion would be… that there was someone there to oppose them. It struck her all too quickly: Emily and Lightning were still there when Calico arrived. They didn't get out of the house soon enough. Or… Calico's men had reached the house before Emily had a chance to escape. Penny hadn't warned her soon enough. She felt like her heart had stopped and plunged from her chest. Her gaze shifted to the window upon the distant city in the rain. Adam's previous argument reasserted itself in her mind. It was a foolish move to leave Emily at the house alone. Not only had she failed in her promise to stand with Emily, she had completely gone against almost every aspect of it. Another cause for Emily to lose faith in her. There were just so many things to apologize for… So many wounds that couldn't easily be healed, if at all...

She shook the thoughts away and looked back towards Talon. He would be asking his question. "Your daughter, the only one of your immediate family who escaped. She's about nine, is she?"

Penny actually had to recall exactly how old Emily was. "Yes. She's… she's almost ten, actually," she answered, having a feeling that that wasn't Talon's actual question.

"So, how is she overall? Smart? Does well in school?"

She wanted to object that he had asked several questions, but decided to keep the quid pro quo going. "She has excellent grades. One of the brightest students in her class," she said, with no small amount of pride.

"Well-behaved?"

"Yes…" She took an additional moment to reflect on this one. Her voice lowered to a thoughtful tone. "She's… She's an angel. We rarely have to discipline her. And that's not just because she always obeys us. She can have a bit of a temper…" Penny recalled Emily's outburst upon noticing Lightning's alteration in behavior. "but she knows what's right and what isn't." _She never did anything to deserve any of this._

Talon glanced back at her. "Is that why you trusted her to go on this journey by herself?"

Her eyes met his briefly. She couldn't tell if what she saw in them was reassuring concern or sick sarcasm. She liked to believe it was the former, but there was so much more to this man than he was showing. His question burned through her all the same. Tears began to cloud her vision and she chose to evade the question. "It's my turn." Talon casually returned his attention to the road. She had at least dodged that moment of vulnerability. Among the remaining questions in her head, it was far too difficult to chose only one. Her mind defaulted to the ones pertaining to Emily, but they weren't the only ones. She didn't know how many questions she would get to ask―she realized Talon hadn't even told her where he was taking her or how long it would take. Another side question, she supposed. But, like all the others, she had to ask at some point. Her mind settled on one. "You mentioned 'business movements' and schedules. What has Calico been doing? What's his master plan this time?"

She was surprised when Talon actually laughed heartily before suppressing it. Clearly, he knew plenty about Calico and what he was doing , and wasn't afraid to voice his opinion on it. "He's used what he has left to set up bases in several places across the world, most of them industrial facilities devoted to pooling natural resources so he can build his armies back up again. He's been working at that for about two months now. Slow, but somewhat steady." Penny considered it for a moment. It sounded like Calico as she had known him, or at least, what he had been reduced to. Better yet, he couldn't retrieve the momentum he had two decades ago. "Like I said, nothing illegal… that any government has noticed anyway."

Penny was somewhat amazed that no government had been keeping an eye out for Calico or his corporation since his escape, but perhaps that was what Talon and his organization were for. His partner had remained quiet for the entire car ride so far. Perhaps he didn't need to take part in the discussion. Talon could handle it. But then why was he with them? Added security? Just another element of Talon's arrival that kept her suspicions at bay. She decided that her next question would simply be where Emily was and she would be done with them. "How do you plan on defeating Calico this time around?" Talon asked.

If Penny's defensive instincts weren't kicking in already, they certainly were at that question. If these men were working with Calico, this was the ideal way to stop her before she could bring him down again. Of course, she reminded herself, if they were working with Calico, wouldn't it be simply just to transport her back to her cell? While Talon was most decidedly driving away from the base, she chose to keep her answer cautious. "I really don't know just yet. Right now, I just want to find Emily back." Her voice lowered again, almost to a whisper. "I just want her back home. Back to her family."

Talon nodded in understanding. "That's good," he said, rather sincerely and devoid of any dissatisfaction. Penny relaxed a little and took a moment to reflect on her own words. She hadn't even evaded the question; that was her honest answer, and Talon accepted it. In the opposite direction of that thought, she had no idea how she was going to beat Calico this time. Surely, Talon was thinking the same thing, despite his response. She didn't really have a plan beyond finding Emily. Although, why did she need one? If she could find Emily, if Lightning was still with her and if she could get her father and Adam out of the compound the same way she escaped, then there was nothing else that mattered to her. She didn't care about what Calico did with his few remaining business assets. Let Talon and his men―assuming he was telling the truth―handle it. She only wanted Emily and Adam safely back in Silverlake. _Just like they deserve._

Then, of course, common sense slapped her thoughts in the face. Calico's men would have realized that she was gone, and another escape through the same route was unlikely. Additionally, they would still be after Emily and now Penny as well. _Why can't Talon have his supposed "organization" just shut down Calico's operations and be done with it?_ She had a feeling it wasn't that simple, but she wanted very badly for it to be. Talon's voice brought her back to the present. "Anything else you want to ask?"

Penny caught herself before she asked her last major question too eagerly, though she felt like Talon would understand. "Do you know where Emily is?"

Talon allowed almost a full minute to pass in complete silence.

"Like I said," he finally said, the sly calmness in his voice suddenly absent. "we've been following her along her travels. Last we knew, she was―"

"Last you _knew?_" Penny interjected, leaning forward in her seat. She made a futile effort to keep her torrent of emotions under control, primarily her worry and frustration, both of which had become prevalent today in particular. "I thought you said you were tracking her!"

"We have been," Talon responded, apparently not taken aback by her response. His voice was still even, but lacked confidence. "We tracked her this far. I actually thought she was going to get you out. But after that―we haven't seen her since."

Penny fell back against her seat, reclining her head on the headrest and running her hands over her face. So, Talon didn't know where Emily was. Only that she was near London, at best. A lot of good that did her. That meant that she had most likely gone with him and played his little conversation game for nothing. If anything, she had just wasted time and strayed from the path she should have taken. One question still dominated her thoughts. _Where are you, Emily?_ Another thought crossed her mind. Where was _Penny?_

Penny lifted her head and looked out the window. The environment didn't look familiar, but of course, she didn't know London very well. They had moved away from the forest, passed by the city, and driven towards a suburban-looking area, populated mainly by more plant life with a house situated in between every hundred meters or so. "Here we go, then," Talon said flatly.

Penny glanced at him queerly before looking out the window again. Why had he brought her here? If he didn't know where Emily was, then why bring her anywhere other than for the sake of getting a head start away from Calico? "This is as good a place to hide as anywhere around here," Talon continued, driving the Jeep toward the side of the road near a small clearing overlooking the east side of London.

Penny looked at him again. "To _hide_… right…" she said, unconvinced. Was Talon simply ordering her to stay out of the way until it all ended? She still had difficulty reading him.

He brought the Jeep to a halt and turned to face her. "It's the best place to start that you'll get." Penny's expression became questioning again. "She couldn't have gone far, but you'd still better get going." It took Penny a moment to register what he meant.

She wasn't sure whether to thank him or ask him one more question, so she simply nodded and opened her door. "Hey," Talon called as she climbed out. She looked back at him in time to see his sly grin return. "Take it easy on yourself. Don't worry about what _has_ happened. Think about what's _going_ to happen next. And, in your case especially, trust."

_Trust who? Emily? Myself? You?_ It probably wasn't as ambiguous Penny thought. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise to her if he had multiple meanings behind it. Whatever the case, it seemed to be his final statement, so Penny nodded again, glanced at his partner one more time and closed the door behind her.

Her thoughts immediately overflowed with numerous questions that she wished she had asked him as she turned and began walking away from the car. Questions which she would have liked to have had the answers to before setting out after Emily. Then again, he didn't even know where exactly Emily _was_. But as her father had said, _What's done is done._ She could hear the sound of Talon's Jeep growing fainter, steadily being replaced by the sound of the nearby woods. Taking a deep breath, she began walking through the field.

The rain had dissipated into a light shower before stopping altogether, leaving the land to distribute its new collection of moisture over the plant life. The ground sunk slightly beneath her feet with each step as stray breezes shook excess rain drops from the leaves overhead. The dark clouds moved on, making way for the golden rays of the late afternoon sun. Penny stopped a moment and closed her eyes, tilted her head back and ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, graciously taking in the sunshine and fresh air. She basked in the warm freedom of the scene for a minute longer, then reopened her eyes and got a better look at her surroundings. Tall grass glistened in the sun in every direction. To her right, it led to an overlook of the city, with a longer stretch of meadow covering her left. A line of trees lay a short distance ahead which she estimated covered someone's property.

It was a beautiful setting but, as she could have predicted, there was no sign of Emily anywhere.

Talon had dropped her off in an unfamiliar place with only a vague idea of where her daughter was. Why had she even gone with him in the first place? She may as well have had stayed where she was. _A lot of help exchanging questions was. _Though, her instincts told her something about the man. Past all of the doubts that were eating away at her, something inside of her told her that whoever this man really was, he knew the value of family.

She did her best to reassure herself with this insight, despite the lack of direction she currently had. She realized that the area in which she stood probably wasn't as large as she thought it was, but she still had nothing to even hint her as to where to start looking for Emily. _Maybe there was something else that Talon said… some riddle he had for me to figure out…_

Her ears caught something soft and distant. She looked around. Other than a gentle breeze causing the meadow to rustle, it was entirely quiet. It could have been one of the nearby residents performing a household chore. But then there was a still distant but much louder sound which somewhat resembled an avalanche. Immediately, she set her doubts off to the side as her instincts took control again and began jogging in the direction of the sound. _I'm coming, Emily_.

* * *

Things were going badly. It was an incredible understatement, but it summed up the events of the past day. Things had gone from wrong to bad, then from bad to worse, then from worse to the unthinkable. Downhill seemed to be the only probable direction remaining. Mittens was dead, and there was no telling where the rest of their family was. There was certainly no telling how they would ever free them. Who was to say they were even capable of it? Mittens was old, but that wasn't how she should have died. Not at all. And what if she was only the first one? What if Emily was next?

Lightning still couldn't completely wrap his mind around what had happened. They had come so close, and now they weren't only set back, they had lost a family member along the way. He could only guess what Emily was feeling, and he could only hope that she wouldn't see that he was just as helpless as she was. Neither of them knew what to do. This wasn't how he was supposed to protect his person. None of this was how it was supposed to be. He still couldn't guarantee her safety. He _still_ didn't know how to control his powers. He hadn't learned fast enough, and now it had cost him the life of his mother. He couldn't afford to waste any more time. He had to learn now, before he took any more lives.

Of either Calico's men, or Emily.

Emily had found a small overhang of rocks in the stretch of wilderness and curled up underneath it, attempting to find the slightest amount of rest after running so far. Through so much. It was time, he decided, for him to learn how to control his abilities. The vision he had of Bolt told him to trust his instincts. Lightning had to teach himself how.

Lightning found a patch of loose stones to practice on. Ignoring his conscious self, he focused in on them. Two bright green beams shot from his eyes and disintegrated the rocks upon contact. It seemed simple enough. He shifted his gaze to another stone and vaporized it as well. But this time, something different happened. The beams honed in on the stone, but began flickering sporadically. He felt a strange tingling in his body just before a sharp convulsion ran from his tail to his head. It continued out of him into the beams, which seemed to burst at the extra energy. A shock wave struck the rocky slope and caused several large portions of it to break loose and fall to the ground. Lightning stumbled backwards away from the landslide as a sharp pain throughout his body slowly faded.

He spent the next several moments catching his breath and surveying the damage he had just caused. "_Lightning?_" a frantic voice called out to his right, beyond the mess.

He heard Emily's footsteps rushing toward him. He took a few more steps back. No. He couldn't let her near himself. It was clear to him now. If _this_ was the only way he could protect her―through senseless violence and destruction―then he couldn't risk her safety any longer. The avalanche that his powers had just caused was proof enough that he was no longer her protector, her good boy.

He was a monster. One who had lost his mother due to his brute force. He wouldn't let that happen to Emily. He couldn't.

Bolt told him to trust his instincts. _You want me to follow my instincts, dad? To trust the ones I love? I'll do it then._

His instincts told him to run.


	28. Chapter 27: Found and Lost

_Wow! A new chapter up in less than a month? Unbelievable! In all seriousness, this isn't the rate I'd prefer, but I'm getting there. Thank you to everyone who's been sticking with this story. I know I say that in, like, every other Author's Note, but it's truly been a great experience for me._

_I really have nothing to say about this chapter other than it was fun to write and edit. I've had fun with this entire story of course, but these past few chapters and the next few are among the best I've written so far (but of course, I'll leave that up to you guys). With another overly-long A/N out of the way, let's continue._

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Chapter 27: Found and Lost

The sound of the rockslide hadn't lasted long, nor was it incredibly loud. The exact direction could have easily been lost if one hadn't followed it immediately. But Penny was searching for someone, and in that state of mind, it was the exact type of noise you listened for. Abrupt and unusual.

Penny didn't break her jog for a moment, especially when a line of stone and boulders running with the landscape came into view. She initially didn't find any sort of avalanche, but she knew whatever, or whoever, had caused it was still nearby. She hoped, at least. As the stone line became taller as she ran alongside it, she began to feel like she was chasing someone, and it wouldn't surprise her if that were the case. The higher the rock wall grew, the more overhangs there were, some of them even forming small caves that could be hospitable from most weather conditions. Penny continued to run past the various formations along the rocks―

―and nearly passed a distinct red backpack lying just inside one of the caves.

Penny skidded to a halt and stared at it for several seconds. Her brain registered almost immediately that it was her old backpack, but her surprise over its appearance kept her in place for several moments. She approached it cautiously, as though it were an armed land mine, and lifted it upright, testing its weight. Everything that she provided to Emily felt like it was inside. Unzipping it proved that her scooter, binoculars and Emily's cell phone with radar accessories were all still present, alongside with several changes of clothes and a pair of maps. All the necessities were there, but the inevitable question was present as well.

Where was Emily?

Penny laid the backpack on the ground and stood, scanning the area for any further signs of her daughter. She considered calling out for her again, but stopped herself quickly. The fact aside that her calls would carry easily over the nearby hills, it would probably be better if Emily actually saw Penny first, on the off chance Emily would flee any other people, even her mother, in her current state. Penny knew it was a likely possibility, but she still avoided thinking about it. She took two steps forward before she heard a voice echo across the rock. She couldn't understand what was said, but matched the voice the Emily in no time.

As she continued in that direction, the voice grew louder and closer. Penny's pace quickened once she realized what the voice was calling.

"Lightning?! _Lightning?_"

A multitude of worst-case scenarios entered her mind as she linked the sounds of the avalanche to Emily's calls. Only this time, they didn't dominate her thoughts. Her focus was on finding her daughter. She came across the site of the rockslide, saving the observation of several scorched rocks for later, and then, just beyond the pile of collapsed stone, Emily frantically ran into view.

Penny felt as though her heart had folded into itself. Her eyes registered that it was indeed her little girl, safe and sound, but beyond that, the sight was so foreign to her eyes. Emily's shirt was tattered, her shoes were worn, her hair was tousled, and her hands and face were covered in a light layer of dirt. Her eyes looked tired and her face overall was downright terrified. This is what had become of her when she lost her home. When she lost her family. Penny's vision blurred with tears just at the sight. _I'm so sorry…_ She knew those words would not suffice in the slightest, but it was a start.

Emily continued hastily surveying the scene for any trace of Lightning, almost looking right past Penny. When their eyes met, both of them formed a connection of tension between each other. Emily's eyes spoke her feelings, a combination of grief, fear and confusion. Penny looked for relief, but concluded the other emotions overpowered it. They held the gaze for what felt like an eternity before Emily finally found enough strength to murmur, weakly, "...Mom?"

Any words Penny would have said to her were lost in an overwhelming sensation of guilty relief, a feeling a mother receives when she recovers her child after losing her in the middle a busy city on an immeasurably greater scale. In the end, Penny's voice was only slightly stronger than Emily's had been. "Emily…" she whispered, feeling her shoulders slump.

Emily's expression crumpled and she ran with all the speed she could achieve towards her. Penny took three large steps forward, dropped to her knees and caught Emily as the girl flung herself into her mother's arms, proceeding to sob into her shoulder.

Penny hugged Emily tightly and buried her face in her shoulder, relishing in the presence she had been without for far too long. She had told Adam before that she would be able to handle being away from Emily for extended periods of time―namely college―but regardless of the circumstances, Penny knew she couldn't stand being apart from the most important one in her life. She learned that much when she had been separated from Bolt all those years ago. Back then, he was where she drew her confidence from. Now, it was Emily.

Emily's small frame shook in Penny's arms as her cries transitioned into deep, uneven breathing sobs. Penny gently stroked her back and thought that she wouldn't be able to release her from the embrace. She never wanted to lose her again. As she had predicted, at that moment she couldn't imagine voluntarily leaving Emily on her own under those circumstances, and she mentally berated herself mercilessly on it as she clutched her weakened and frightened daughter. _How could you abandon the one person you love more than anything else in the world?! How could you leave your daughter…_ The word resonated within Penny again. _My daughter. My little girl…_ She pressed her cheek against the side of Emily's head and closed her eyes. _I promised..._

Penny didn't want to release Emily out of fear that she would lose her again. It seemed like a peculiar wish, but she could hardly trust herself, and Emily was in no hurry to pull away herself. Finally, Penny took her daughter by the shoulders and held her so that their eyes could meet. Her cheeks glistened with tears in the golden light of the setting sun, her expression forlorn, and whimpered softly. Penny soothed her, wiping the tears away with her sleeve, and her mind chose randomly from the myriad of questions she had. "Are you okay?"

Of all the questions, she felt as though she had chosen the one with the most obvious answer. Emily nodded weakly, but her eyes gave a different response. Penny surveyed the area again. "Where's Lightning?" she asked, running her hand through Emily's brown hair, straightening it out as best she could.

Emily struggled to form words in her mouth. "I…" She shook her head slowly. "I don't know…" She turned her back towards the rubble. "He came over here just after we stopped running and… I lied down and tried to sleep. Then I heard this big crash, and… I looked for him, but I don't see him anywhere… He… I think he…" Her eyes started to water again. "You don't think he…"

"I don't know what happened either, sweetie," Penny responded quickly.

It was clear to her that Lightning's powers had been used on the area, but why would it have caused him to flee? She thought back to the morning her father brought him into the R&D center. He had mentioned that the process was dated, as was the equipment used, but there would only be slight chemical imbalances, no serious impediment on the dog himself. _He'd been thinking about the side-effects… He knew this would be different…_ As tired as they were then, Mark and Penny had given thought to the possible repercussions of the procedure on Lightning. They knew it wouldn't be safe, which was why Penny wanted Emily to get out of harm's way before hand. The powers should have been a last resort.

_Then why didn't you stay with her? Why did you leave her in harm's way?_ She shook the self-discipline away for the moment and returned to her line of thought. If Lightning's abilities were unstable, that would have caused the avalanche before her, which could have frightened him away. Being frightened by it, she could understand, but enough so that he would leave Emily? Penny mulled over the concept. Lightning was a smart dog. He could figure that if he was in danger from himself, Emily would be too. Not dissimilar to Penny's own thinking weeks earlier.

Penny returned her attention to Emily and continued. "Whatever it was, Lightning is probably okay. He wouldn't just leave you."

Emily wasn't convinced. "Then where is he?"

Penny firmly gripped her daughter's shoulders. "Wherever he's gone, he _will_ come back." She decided to not explain his exact condition, but at the same time, she had had enough of keeping secrets from her. She would tell her, but when Emily was ready for it. There were other things Emily had to tell _her_. "I promise." She slowly stood and raised Emily with her. "Now, let's get back to the cave. You can settle down and tell me what's happened since…" Penny inhaled deeply and kept an arm around Emily. "since I left you."

Her story was roughly as Penny had expected: chasing after Calico's different agents and bases in search of more information all while coping with, danger, Lightning's newfound abilities, Emily's confusion and uncertainty of the future. It was not dissimilar to Penny's own story overall. Though, she was surprised at Emily's ability to get from location to location and find places to stay with relative ease, even more so at how determined she had been over the course of her travels. Despite how scared she would be, she still pressed on in her efforts to find her family back. Penny felt another wave of pride as Emily recounted her and Lightning's journey, only to be contradicted by her doubts that it never should have taken place to begin with.

Emily explained how she got new information on her next target each time, beginning with Los Angeles and ending with London. She seemed to choose her words carefully when she spoke of how she found her way to Kochi, only briefly mentioning Wilson. The name rang in Penny's memory as the man Bruce had mentioned being in danger for giving away information. She wanted to pursue his case further, but knew that there wasn't much else that Emily could, or wanted to, remember from it.

Penny had to keep herself from crying as she consoled Emily while she explained Mittens's fate. That was one part she chose not to linger on. She also mentioned her frustrated depression which led to her severing her charm bracelet near Mittens's grave. "It's okay," Penny said, stroking the back of Emily's head, then realizing that the girl hadn't actually apologized for it. "I still found you."

Emily kept her eyes forward on the fire that Penny had created at the cave's entrance. She stayed quiet for several minutes. She eventually opened her mouth, hesitated, then asked the question Penny had been dreading. "Why did you leave me?"

She had anticipated the question, but hearing it come from Emily was still like a knife plunging all the way through her heart. She could take it from Adam, but not from Emily herself. She could barely find the words. "I… couldn't risk Calico coming after you," she whispered, unable to maintain eye contact. "I thought if… if he had all three of us, he wouldn't bother coming after you. I didn't think he knew about you, and if he did…" Her voice trailed off and remained away for too long of a time. "...if he did, I knew you would still be set. You could still make it if…"

She almost anticipated Emily's interjection. "Why leave if you knew there was a _chance_ that he would find out about me?" Her voice was much stronger now and her expression was beginning to harden. "It was worse when I was alone when he came after me than if you had been with me. It would have been better for Lightning!"

Penny was at a loss for words. Her daughter was angry with her, and she had every right to be. She had lost so much. "I couldn't risk your safety. I didn't know if I would be enough to protect you."

"I'd be better protected if I knew what exactly was going on," Emily retorted, her sorrow turning into exasperation.

"If I personally took you away from home, we'd have to live on the run," Penny said, not believing her own explanations and feeling more and more helpless. "I didn't want that life for you…"

"And _this_ life is any better?!" Emily shouted, standing up. "I'd be chased either way! I would have preferred to at least be with you! Maybe then I could have gotten further! Maybe then Mittens would still be alive! Maybe _then_—"

She suddenly broke off her voice, clearly frightened by her own tone. Her cheeks were burning red, damp with steadily flowing streams of tears. Her legs began to quiver. Her malice was transitioning to depression, all encompassed by an unending, scared confusion. Penny knew how she felt, and the fact that she herself was responsible only made her want to break down and apologize profusely. Then she was met with a cold truth: there was nothing she could do to amend for any of this.

Emily struggled to find the words of her next sentence. "Didn't you…" Penny could already tell her depression was starting to speak for her. "Don't you still want me?"

It didn't matter what context it came in. It cut through her deeper than anything she had felt before. This was what Emily had seen through her entire experience. Penny thought that her little girl was strong enough to endure the world with Lightning, but Calico's pursuit had broken her. And it was entirely Penny's fault. She felt her heart crumble apart, dragging her entire body down with it. She fell to her knees, meeting Emily's tearful eyes. Emily didn't need an invitation; she ran forward and resumed sobbing into her mother's shoulder. "Oh, Emmy… honey, it's… I'm so sorry." Penny held Emily close to her and whispered softly into her ear. "I love you so much. I won't leave you again." She wouldn't break that promise. She couldn't. "It's okay now. I'm here, I've got you."

Penny held her for an amount of time she didn't care to measure, even after the sun began its merge into the horizon. They would have to form a plan for the following day, including where to go and how to get there. Of course, they would inevitably have to find a way to get Adam and Mark out of Calico's grasp as well. She wished she could have just taken both of them with her when she made her escape. It would have "gone better", as Adam put it. Her husband's doubts rang through her head again, more powerful than ever. She hoped that his heart was in the right place, but his faith had been so greatly shaken. Just as Emily's had been.

Penny let go of those concerns for the time being. They needed to stop Calico and whatever plot he had again. They needed to save their respective fathers as well as the families Calico was forcing into work. But they would address it all later. The world could wait. Adam could wait. Penny could afford to put it off.

It was her daughter who needed her now.

* * *

The road was apparently unending. Lightning walked for what felt like hours, days perhaps, and no end was in sight. Just as well, he supposed. He had no particular place to go, other than wherever was far enough from Emily that she was safe. He sighed at the thought of her alone. Every part of him reprimanded himself for leaving her in the first replace and demanded that he go back to her immediately before something happened to her. He wanted nothing more than to be with her and comfort her, but he kept walking onward. _I just won't use my powers. I don't even understand them! I can protect her in other ways, can't I?_ His line of mental questions served only to strengthen his doubts and the temptation to turn around, but he couldn't help but wonder if his father was listening and would explain everything at some point. He listened for something to the best of his abilities after each question, but his ears only met silence.

For the first time in his life, Lightning was without anyone to look to for guidance. It was terrifying.

He'd never been ready to receive his enhanced abilities, and he certainly never could have been prepared to protect Emily with them. Just hours before they were evicted from their home, they had been playing together in the park in Silverlake without a care whatsoever. Their world had been perfectly happy and safe with a loving family. So much changed in the few minutes it took for it to turn upside down. Emily had been so frightened, but even when she had become so doubtful in New Delhi, she kept her head up and pushed herself and Lightning onward. She kept fighting. Lightning thought nothing could deter her before Mittens had died. After that, her faith in her family was dwindling. He was all she had left, and he had to strike out on his own. With all they had been through, he felt weaker now than he ever had. It was clear that both of them drew their strength from the other, regardless of how bad the situation became. It didn't take him long to realize that he couldn't last without Emily, and that she wouldn't last without him.

As he crested the next hill, he gazed out over the new area. A small village composed of several single-story and some double-story houses arranged in suburban fashion lay ahead. It vividly reminded him of his old neighborhood back in Silverlake, which nearly urged him to keep moving. The fewer reminders he had of the life he left behind, the better. But the sun was setting quickly, and Calico would likely send his men out in force during the night, in the cover of the darkness. In addition, the area was probably hosted some sort of shelter suitable for him. "What do you think, Dad?" Lightning thought out loud, hoping it would make a difference. "Should I hunker down here?"

As usual, there was no response. He sighed, taking the option he thought his father would choose. "Okay," he said in a second exhale. "Time to lay low."

He looked in the direction from which he came one more time, then began trotting towards the town.


	29. Chapter 28: Reflection

_Glad I was able to get this chapter up sooner than usual, but I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like much. It's more of a filler, if you will; I'm just setting up elements for what will hopefully be a few awesome concluding chapters. Once again, a big thanks to everyone who's reviewed and stuck with this story. At this point, I won't be implementing any suggestions I've received, but all the same, your support means everything!_

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Chapter 28: Reflection

Warmth exuded from each house he passed, each one bringing a new assortment of aromas that engulfed his senses and gave him a renewed feeling of comfort, something he had been without for a considerable amount of time. On the other end of that, another feeling that was returning to him was hunger, and in a vast amount. The scents pleased him in one way, but mocked him in another. It was an intriguing feeling.

But Lightning didn't want to dwell on it. The only thing he could afford or had the energy to focus on was finding a place to rest. He passed several homes with dog houses in the backyard, but they were all already occupied. Some of them had dogs sitting just inside, enjoying a bone or another post-dinner delicacy. They weren't all the most sociable of canines, many of them placing themselves between him and their doghouse. He knew they were only being cautious, but he decided against asking them for directions or virtually anything else. There were some less territorial ones who greeted him in passing. A few of them even directed him to where he could find somewhere to spend the night. Most of the suggestions involved nooks behind dumpsters or spaces in alleyways. They weren't Lightning's idea of ideal housing arrangements, but they would have to do.

Before he set out to the first of the recommended locations, he checked at one more house, one that sat on the corner of the street he had been walking along. It was a simple, two-story brick house with the most delectable smells he had come across flowing from its open windows. His hunger struck again with more urgency than before. He now wished he had asked one of the more friendlier dogs he came across for something they could spare for him, in the name of assisting a fellow canine. There had to be something around the house he could scavenge. He roamed around the house and when his eyes fell on the back door, he felt a strange feeling come over him, very distinct from his hunger. It wasn't a discomforting feeling. In fact, it felt very reassuring. As though all problems in his life had suddenly vanished. The last time he had felt this feeling was… _When was it?_ It had a dream-like quality about it, the type of dream that was almost idealistic, usually occurring after a nightmare.

Lightning's senses immediately perked up. _A dream._ "Dad?" He looked in various directions and listened for his father's voice. But, like before, he heard nothing, and the feeling had faded away.

He sighed and looked down, feeling like he had missed an opportunity. Maybe it wasn't even his father. Maybe it had been just another fluxuation in his powers. Whatever it was, it hadn't satisfied his hunger. He began trotting towards the back door to beg for any spare scraps the family had. It would work out if he could make himself appear adorable or hungry enough. The sympathy aspect wouldn't hurt at least.

As he came to the door, his mind drifted to how he had thought of the idea, but he couldn't recall his thought process leading up to it. The concept seemed to just appear in his mind from something. He couldn't place what…

The back door suddenly opened and a woman stepped halfway out, still facing whoever she was speaking to with a small bucket of food detritus in her hand. Lightning couldn't fully see its contents, but they were the best aroma he had smelled all day. The woman, tall with light brown hair and in her mid thirties, concluded her conversation and took another step fully on the back stoop. Before she took another, she looked down and spotted the dog in front of her. "Oh," she said in mild surprise. "Hey, little guy."

She prepared to walk forward in a motion that could have been an attempt to shoo him away. Without thinking, Lightning drooped both of his ears, tilted his head to the side, looked up at her only with his eyes and whimpered softly. The woman's expression instantly melted into warm, sympathetic generosity, accompanied by a long "Aww." She reached into the bucket and pulled out a sizable piece of beef fat. "Here you go, buddy," she chirped in a strong English accent, tossing the scrap to him.

The savory meat cascaded through his mouth with flavor when he caught it in midair. He wagged his tail in approval. The woman chuckled and walked past him towards the garbage bins lined up against the house. Lightning walked alongside her, too distracted by the food he was receiving to think about how he was doing it. The woman reached the bins but rooted out one more scrap and tossed it to him with another tender smile. He jumped with his front paws and caught it expertly. He missed these delicacies so much and came to remember how long he had been without them. He looked on with disappointment as the woman emptied the bucket's remaining contents into the bin, but maybe he test his newfound skill at more than one house.

"Mummy?" a young voice called from inside.

"I'm out here, sweetie," the woman replied, closing the lid on the bin.

A boy with brown hair who couldn't have been more than ten years old emerged onto the back step. His eyes found his mother first, then fell on Lightning and lit up with excitement. "A doggy!"

He quickly walked up to Lightning. "Wait, sweetie," his mother said warningly.

But Lightning wagged his tail in welcoming the new and eager face. There was something about the boy that came off simply as loving and pure. He came up to him and extended his hand, which Lightning licked to show his approval. The boy scratched Lightning behind the ear with one hand and stroked his dirtied fur with the other. "Wow, look at you!" he said admiringly, eyes glowing. "When did you get him, mummy?"

The woman's eyes became hesitant, already knowing where her son was going with this. "Well… I didn't actually 'get' him. I just found him begging out here," she explained. "He probably belongs to one of the neighbors. Look." She gestured to Lightning's neck. "He has a collar and tag."

The boy noticed it as well and replaced eagerness on his face with disappointment. Though when he studied the tag, his expression reverted. "It says he's from 'Silverlake.' There's no place like that around here, is there?"

The woman sighed as though she was fighting a losing war, somewhere she had been with this child before. "That doesn't mean he might belong to someone."

"Oh but mummy!" the boy argued, looking up at her with a pleading expression. "He was begging out here. He must be hungry! We have to look after him at least for now!"

Lightning looked up at her as well, sensing that this boy either had a way of persuading people or rarely asked for anything. Either way, he could tell that she too was sympathetic to his plight. After several moments of deliberation, she finally said, "Oh all right, David. We'll take him in until we can find out who he belongs to." David could barely contain his excitement and grinned broadly at Lightning. Lightning couldn't help but also rejoice inside. He had found his shelter for the night and even someone to spend it with. "But," his mother firmly added, folding her arms. "in that time, _you_ will be responsible for him."

"I will, mummy," David promised, crossing his heart with two fingers. "I'll look after him. I've been taking care of Rhino, haven't I?"

She nodded once in agreement, "You have. But a dog is going to be different. First of all," she gave Lightning a once-over. "he'll need to be cleaned up. He's not sleeping anywhere in the house like this."

"Okay," he responded, not really paying much attention to her anymore. He guided Lightning towards the door. "Come on, boy. You're staying with us. We'll have lots of fun, won't we?"

Lightning barked happily and followed David inside. He felt renewed somehow, as though he were entering a place where nothing could hurt him. A home. A family. He had felt this way before but… he futilely shook away the memories ingrained in his mind. He knew he couldn't let go of Emily, but he had left for her protection. This was for the best, and something about this place, this home, felt right.

* * *

Waking up was difficult to take. Emily never liked it when she came to realize that she was fully awake and always tried to salvage the dissipating sense of weightless dreaming before being thrust into the less idealistic world. That morning was no exception.

Emily sighed and gave up on falling back asleep, allowing her mind to face the realities of the real world. Lightning's absence was the first and most prominent among them, and caused a dull ache within her. She tried to drive it away, but of course there were few other thoughts of hers that didn't pertain to what Calico had done to her life. She harkened back to the summer days in Silverlake, when she would wake up, realize that she could sleep however late she wanted to and blissfully snuggle up in the covers with Lightning, letting her mind wander as though she were still dreaming. Lying on a cold, hard and rather uneven bed of stone with only her backpack as a pillow was not in any respects an adequate substitute.

She eventually concluded that there was no use in even lying down anymore and opened her eyes slowly, giving them time to adjust to the light shining into their cave. Relieved to see that it was already well into the morning, she lifted her head and looked around to see all her supplies still present and her mother still sleeping on her side right behind her. Emily moved her mother's arm, which had been draped protectively over her, carefully so as not to wake her, quietly stood up and tiptoed to the cave entrance. She was greeted by a cool breeze as she stepped into the morning sunlight and low-hanging mist. Emily shivered slightly and hugged her elbows, surveying the nearby area. The rustle of the long grass waving in the wind and the chirping of several different types of birds composed the tranquil ambience of the environment. It was so calm and soothing in spite of her current circumstances. As remarkable as she found it, she felt that she couldn't truly enjoy it without Lightning by her side. Her inner turmoil was far too distracting. Still, she had to try for some level of relaxation.

She began to walk along the stone path, wrapped in her thoughts, her concerns for Lightning, her father and grandfather, and her worries for the future. Her best efforts to dismiss them for the time being only kept them at bay. Her natural tendency was to leave them to Penny now that she was with her, but she couldn't deny that she herself would have to play some part herself. When she looked up from her feet, she saw that she had walked to where the edge of the valley overlooked central London. The city was already awake with its usual bustle, and there she stood, observing it in a naturally peaceful setting. She was able to find some consolation in that.

It occurred to her that it would probably be best to be at her mother's side when she woke up, given the circumstances. But when she turned back towards the camp, she saw Penny already walking to her. _Always sensing when I'm not around…_ "Morning," Penny greeted warmly, coming to Emily's side and also taking in the view.

"Hey," Emily responded, turning back around.

"Sleep okay?" Penny asked after a few seconds.

The answer seemed obvious, but then again, Emily _had_ grown accustomed to poor sleeping conditions, and maybe Lightning's absence or Penny's presence would make a difference. Additionally, a mother just needed to know this sort of thing. Emily shrugged, "I guess."

Penny nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was a step up from what Calico gave us."

Emily saw her mother wince after mentioning Calico. Yes, she was trying to dodge the subject while she knew perfectly well that they were going to have to go back there at some point. This annoyed Emily profusely. _She can send me and Lightning out to fend for ourselves against Calico, but she still can't even talk about it when I'm around? What, you don't think I'm strong anymore? Now all of a sudden I'm Mommy's Little Girl? Do you even know what you're doing with me?_ Emily was incredibly tempted to voice even one of her thoughts just to cut down on the raging inside her head, but she kept her mouth shut and didn't even risk an irritated glance. Penny folded her arms and kept looking out over the city. "It's a nice view, isn't it?" she commented almost hastily.

Emily sighed quietly, feeling her frustration swell. It wasn't that she had awoken in a sour mood, but for once her mother's efforts at conversation weren't helping to reassure her. She didn't feel like beating around the bush. If she was old enough to survive out here with Calico chasing her, she was old enough to understand the full extent of their next move. She wanted to be done with this. She wanted to go home. Before Penny could speak again, Emily exhaled intentionally audibly. "What now?" she asked, looking at Penny.

Penny sighed as well and met her eyes. She glanced down once and said, "We'll figure something out."

Emily felt a little contented. _We'll_ figure something out. So she _was_ still part of this after all. But the answer wasn't completely satisfying. "Do you have a plan?"

Penny began to nod, then tilted her head briefly in reconsideration. "I have an idea at least. It's not much," she admitted. "but it's a start."

_Back to honesty again. That _is_ something._ Emily only wished she could see it all as clearly as her mother could. "Does it involve Lightning?"

Penny smiled sadly, put her arm around Emily and pulled her close. "I hope it does," she responded softly. "I'm really not sure anymore, sweetheart. I thought I knew how to handle this, but I risked too much last time and now…" Penny looked away for a few moments before looking back at Emily, who placed her arm around her waist and leaned into her which served as reassurement for both of them. "I'm just hoping right now."

Having endured it for the past four weeks, Emily knew the feeling, and almost felt a hint of retribution at now having Penny in a similar position. At the same time, she also felt more compelled to forgive her. Emily had told herself before that she would never forgive either of her parents for abandoning her, but over the course of the past week, her grudge grew smaller and now all she wanted was to get her family back. If part of Penny's plan was to wear Emily down enough to the point where she didn't even care about what happened before, it had worked, especially since Penny was being honest with her now. "What's our next move?" Emily asked in a tired tone.

"We'll need to make sure none of Calico's armed patrols are around when we head back to the base," she responded promptly.

Emily was afraid of that. She knew it was coming, but still hoped against hope that they would do something different. Penny always had something in mind. While Adam was generally the one to take chances and see what happened, Penny preferred to think ahead and prepare for any situation. "But first," Penny added. "We get some breakfast. Shouldn't be too far to the next town."

That was more like it. The motherly instinct was still in her. They both turned around and began walking back to the camp, keeping their arms around one another. Even in spite of her previous actions and everything Emily had thought about her, Penny still provided a comforting and secure presence, something she had come to depend on and became so terrified without when Lightning left. But even then, there was still the ever-looming uncertainty. With Lightning missing and Calico's power growing out of sight of all governments, nothing was guaranteed. Penny was right. Hope was the best they could do.

"I hope Lightning catches up," Emily said, almost to herself.

Penny tightened her grip around her daughter's shoulders. "I have a feeling he will." Emily only grunted in response. "A feeling" wasn't much. While her mother's uncertainty helped Emily relate to her, it also reinforced her own skepticism on Penny's ability to pull through, in addition to the fact that Lightning's troubles were entirely her fault. She knew this, of course, and was only trying to keep her safe, but Emily wanted some assurance that her mother's plan would prevail. "After all," she continued, as though responding to the thought. "I was separated from you without knowing where you were, and look how far you came."

She didn't allow Penny to see it, but Emily allowed herself a slight grin. Her mother always seemed to know just what to say to her.


End file.
